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AN    APPEAL 

IN  BEHALF  OF  THE 

VIEWS  OF  THE  ETERNAL  WORLD  AND  STATE, 

AND   THE 

DOCTRINES  OF   FAITH   AND   LIFE, 

HELD  BY  THE  BODY  OF  CHRISTIANS  WHO  BELIEVE  THAT  A 

NEW    CHURCH 

IS    SIGNIFIED    (in    THE    REVELATION,    CHAP.    XXI.)    BT 

THE    NEW   JERUSALEM: 

INCLUDING 

ANSWERS  TO  OBJECTIONS, 

PARTICULARLY 

THOSE  OF  THE  REV.  G.  BEAUMONT,   IN  HIS  WORK 

ENTITLED 

"THE   ANTl-SWEDENBORG." 

ADDRESSED  TO  THF  REFLE<;TINn^  OF    A.LL   DENOMINATIONS. 
BY    SAMUfcL    IffOJiljk, 

!III»IJT^P  OF  H[AHOrER  SrRtyTCHAPfeLj'LOVfDON. 

For  we  have  not/oUovyed  cunningly  devised  fables.    2  t*eter  i.  IC. 

Beware  therefor©  lest  ♦Ji^t  cr)nje*  apon  you'^ybi^h  h  spoken  of  in  the  prophets  ; 
Behold,  ye  despisersj  and' vw>^e>,^d*peris^  ;  "fot  f  work  a  work  in  your  days, 
a  work  which  ye  sha'l  -n  no  \y}«'i  Welievi,',  though  a  inan  declare  it  unto  you. 

•        •^     Acts  xiii.  40,  41 ;  Hab.  i.  5. 


BOSTON, 
PUBLISHED  BY  ADONIS  HOWARD,  SCHOOL  STREET. 

1830, 


w 


A 


BOSTON    CLASSIC    PRESS I.  R.  BUTTS. 


'^    7 


PREFACE. 


The  occasion  and  design  of  the  following  work  are  suffi- 
ciently explained  in  the  Introductory  Section ;  it  is  therefore 
unnecessary  to  say  anything  on  those  subjects  here.  But 
as  the  Author  has  arranged  his  materials  in  a  form  somewhat 
unusual,  and  differing  from  that  which  he  would  himself  have 
deemed  most  eligible,  some  explanation  of  this  circumstance 
may  not  be  improper. 

It  was  the  wish  of  the  Author  that  the  work  should  contain 
a  satisfactory  elucidation  of  all  the  subjects  discussed,  and 
yet  that  it  should  be  kept  within  a  moderate  compass  and 
price.  To  accomplish  the  former  object,  as  the  views  to  be 
presented  are  so  new  to  the  world  in  general,  it  was  necessary 
to  conduct  the  investigations  upon  a  rather  extensive  scale :  to 
make,  therefore,  this  compatible  with  the  latter  object,  it  was 
determined  to  introduce  into  the  text,  only  such  parts  of  the 
discussion  as  appeared  most  indispensable,  and  to  throw  all 
the  subordinate  and  collateral  inquiries  and  elucidations  into 
the  form  of  iiotes.  And  as  it  was  found,  towards  the  latter 
part  of  the  work,  that  even  under  this  arrangement  the  size 
of  the  volume  was  extending  much  beyond  what  was  deemed 
eligible,  it  was  thought  advisable  to  dispose  of  the  remaining 
articles  of  this  kind  in  an  Appendix,  in  which  a  much  smaller 
type  might  be  employed  without  injuring  the  appearance  of 
the  book.  It  would  perhaps  have  been  better  if  this  plan  had 
been  adopted  in  the  beginning,  and  all  the  long  notes  had 
been  given  in  an  Appendix;  but  the  reason  why  the  Author 
preferred  to  give  the  discussions  thus  introduced  in  the  shape 
of  notes,  was,  because  he  thought  that  they  would,  in  that 
form,  be  more  likely  to  be  read ;  and  he  considers  some  of 
them  to  be  equally  necessary  to  his  argument  with  what  is 
oflfered  in  the  text  itself. 


IV  PREFACE. 

It  has  been  endeavored,  as  far  as  possible,  so  to  construct 
the  notes,  as  that  they  may  form  one  series  with  the  text. 
Perhaps,  however,  the  work  may  be  read  most  agreeably  and 
usefully,  by  first  perusing  the  text  of  a  Section  through, 
and  afterwards  taking  all  the  notes  appended  to  it  together. 
Those,  however,  who  prefer  small  books  to  large,  especially 
on  theological  subjects,  may  gratify  their  taste  by  confining 
their  reading  to  the  text  alone  :  if  this  should  sufficiently 
interest  them  to  raise  a  further  appetite,  they  can  then,  if 
they  please,  read  the  notes  also.  But  the  Author  hopes  that 
none  will  conclude,  from  a  perusal  of  the  text  alone,  that 
he  has  failed  to  establish  his  points  ;  since  in  the  notes  many 
objections  are  answered,  and  many  subjects  are  investigated, 
without  which  the  argument  of  the  text  must  Avant  its  proper 
light. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Author's  direct  controversy  with 
the  Rev.  Mr  Beaumont,  is,  however,  properly  thrown  into  the 
Appendix,  because  the  work  itself  is  formed  upon  a  far  more 
general  plan  than  that  of  a  mere  answer  to  his  publication. 
Indeed,  in  the  Author's  estimation,  that  gentleman's  "  Jhiti 
Sioedenborg'''  was  scarcely  of  sufficient  importance  to  deserve 
an  answer ;  but  he  was  not  sorry  to  use  the  opportunity  af- 
forded by  it  for  placing  the  subjects  it  brings  forward  in  their 
just  light  before  the  view  of  the  public. 

[N.  B.  —  In  the  present  edition  of  this  Appeal,  the  Appen- 
dix, and  some  of  the  notes  have  been  omitted;  this  has  been 
done,  partly  to  reduce  the  size  and  price  of  the  volume  and 
partly  because  it  was  not  thought  necessary  to  republish  in  this 
countrythe  more  controversial  parts  of  the  work.] — Pub. 


FOR    SALE    BY    THE    PUBLISHER, 

The  following  Works,  by  the  Author  of  this  Appeal  :— 
On  the  Plenary  Inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  1  vol.  8vo,  ^2.25. 
On  the  True  Object  of  Christian  Worship,— a  Tract,  10c. 
On  Regeneration  and  Good  Works,— a  Tract,  10c. 
On  the  Atonement,— a  Tract,  10c. 

Also,  just  published,  a  volume  of  Tracts,  selected  from  the  wri- 
tings of  SvsTEDENBORG,  and  containing  a  Brief  Exposition  of  the 
Doctrines  of  the  New  Jerusalem  Church,  12mo.  price  62 1-2  cts. 


CONTENTS. 

THE  REFERENCES   TO  THE  NOTES  ARE  MARKED  BY  AN   (n) 
BEFORE  THE  NUMBER  OF  THE  PAGE. 

SECTION  I. 

Introduction, Page  1 

The  occasion  and  design  of  the  work,  1. 

SECTION  II. 

The  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord,  .     .     .     .' 7 

I.  That  it  is  not  a  coming  in  Person,  hut  is  a  restoration  of  the 
knowledge  and  influence  of  the  truths  of  the  Word  of  God,  8. — 
II.  That  there  are  many  circumstayices  and  signs  at  the  present 
day,  which  indicate  that  the  time  for  the  fulfilment  of  these  prophe- 
cies has  arrived,  16. — III.  That  there  are  also  many  circumstances 
which  evince,  that  the  restoration  of  true  religion,  -promised  under 
the  above  figures,  cannot  be  much  longer  delayed,  without  fatal 
consequences,  21. — IV.  That  these  views  cannot  he  justly  charged 
with  enthusiasm,  but  that  they  furnish  the  best  antidote  to  all  spir- 
itual delusion,  26. 

SECTION  iir. 

The  Resurrection, 29 

That  man  rises  agan  immediately  after  death,  and  is  then  a  real 
substantial  man  in  perfect  human  form  ;  and  that  the  Resurrection 
spoken  of  in  Scripture  is  not  a  resurrection  of  the  material  body,  30 

SECTION  IV. 

The  Last  Judgment, 64 

I.  That  the  General  Judgment  announced  in  Scripture  was  not 
to  take  place  in  the  natural  world,  hut  in  the  spiritual,  68. — II. 
That  the.  Last  Judgment  has  been  accomplished,  91. 

SECTION  V. 
A  Human  Instrument  necessary,    and  therefore    granted, 

111 
I.  That  whenever  the  time  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  Last 
Judgment  and  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord  shall  have  arrived, 
some  Human  Announcer  of  the  fact,  and  of  the  truths  to  he  then 
discovered,  must  he  commissioned  to  declare  them.  111. — II.  Ex- 
amination  oj  the  claims  of  Swedenhorg  to  he  received  into  this  ca- 
pacity, 113. — III.  The  charge  against  him  of  Insanity,  considered, 
124. — IV.  The  objection  against  Swedenhorg,  that  he  ivr ought  no 
miracles,  considered,  132. 

SECTION  VI. 
Heaven  and  Hell,  and  the  Appearances  in  them  and  in 
THE  Intermediate  Region  or  World  of  Spirits,  ,  156 
I.  Great  prejudices  against  Swedenhorg  for  professing  to  have 
had  communication  with  the  spiritual  world;  yet  that,  in  his 
case,  this  was  appropriate,  and  necessary,  158.  How  the  author's 
own  prejudices  on  this  subject  were  surmounted,  (n)  ib. — II.  Mr 
BeaumonV s  injurious  assertion  respecting^  the  tendency  of  Swe- 


detiborg's,  descriptiona  of  the  invisible  world,  considered,  l<^^  — 
That  Swcdcnborjj's  views  of  heaven  are  such  as  must  render  it  in 
the  hiirhest  degree  attractive  to  the  justly  feeling  mind,  (n)  162. — 
III.  That, in  order  to  the  right  understanding  of  Swedenborg's 
itatemenis  respecting  the  Appearances  in  the  spiritual  world,  cer- 
tain general  truths  are  necessary  to  be  known,  167. 
The  Existknce  of  the  Makriage-Union  in  Heave.v,  axd  of 

AN  Opposite  Connexion  in  Hell,  (n) 183 

That  the  Scriptures  represent  the  Lord  Himself  as  one  of  the 
parties  in  a  Marriage-union,  and  the  Church  as  the  other,  (n)  18-5 

SECTION  VII. 
The  Trinitv,    as    centered    in    the    Person    or    the    Lord 

Jesus  Christ, 201 

TIkj  New-Jerusalem  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  takes  all  that  is 
true  in  other  S3'stenis  separated  from  all  that  is  false,  and  is  such 
as,  it  might  be  expected,  all  would  gladly  accept,  203.— L  Solu- 
tion of  the  objections  arisiiig  out  of  the  belief,  that  the  Being  who 
became  incarnate  teas  a  Son  of  God  born  from  eternity,  206. — IL 
Solutio7i  of  the  objections  derived  frotn  the  fact,  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  while  in  the  world,  sometimes  spoke  as  if  the  Father  were  a 
Being  separate  from  himself.  That  the  reason  was,  because,  so 
long  as  he  was  in  the  world,  there  was  a  part  of  his  nature  which 
was  not  divine  ;  but  that  it  was  glorified  successfully,  so  that,  at 
his  ascension,  all  was  divine,  and  one  with  the  Father,  209 

SECTION  VIII. 
The  Atonement  and  Mediation  of  Jesus  Christ,  .  .  21S 
What  the  Atonement  is,  according  to  the  Apostle  Paul,  219. — 
Scripture  use  and  meaning  of  the  word,  (n)  ib. — L  That  the  Sac- 
rifices of  the  Mosaic  laiv  did  not  represent  the  punishm.eni  due  to 
sin,  but  the  hallowing  of  every  affection  and  principle  of  the  mind, 
ihus  of  the  U'hole  7nan,to  the  Lord,  221.— H.  That  the  Sacrifice 
of  Jesus  Christ  did  not  consist  in  his  suffering  the  punishment  due 
io  sinners,  but  in  the  hallowing  of  every  principle  or  elernent  of  his 
Human  JVature  to  the  Godhead,  till  the  whole  became  a  living 
sacrifice,  or  thing  fully  consecrated  and  hallowed,  by  perfect  union 
with  the  Divinity,  226. — That  liis  sufFerinffs,  and  finally  the  pas- 
sion of  the  cross,  Avere  the  means  by  which  this  sacrifice  was 
offered,  and  thus  by  which  we  are  delivered  from  hell  and  raised 
to  heaven,  226,  227.  That  by  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ  the 
enmity  or  contrariety  between  man  and  God  was  first  abolished  in 
his  own  person,  and  then  in  us  also  ;  and  thus  atonement  is  effect- 
ed, 229. — HI.  That  the  Lord  is  called  a  Mediator  in  respect  to  his 
Humanity,  because  in  this  he  has  opened  a  new  and  living  way  of 
access  to  his  Divinity,  230.  This  beautifully  illustrated,  and  with 
it  the  Lord's  oneness  with  the  Father,  by  Dr.  Watts,  (n)  231. 

SECTION  IX. 
The  Christian  LrrE, 235 

Gross  scandals  advanced  on  this  subject  by  Mr  Beaumont,  235. 
That  a  life  of  right eous7iess,  but  not  of  Pharisaic  righteousness, 
is, as  taught  in  Mat.  v.  19,  20,  the  icay  to  heaven;  and  that  this 
doctrine,  in  all  its  integrity  and  purity,  is  that  of  the  JVcic  Church 
and  of  the  writings  of  Swedenborg,  237. 


AN  APPEAL,  &c. 


TO 
THE  REFI.ECTING  OF  AliL  DENOMINATIONS. 


SECTION  I. 
INTRODUCTION. 

Allow  me,  with  respect  and  affectioiij  to  address  you, 
as  men  who  assign  their  due  value  to  serious  things,  on 
a  subject  of,  as  it  appears  to  many,  no  inconsiderable 
importance. 

The  existence  of  a  body  of  Christians  who  humbly 
trust  that  they  belong  to  the  New  Church  of  the  Lord, 
predicted  in  various  parts  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and 
called,  in  the  tvventyfirst  chapter  of  the  Revelation,  the 
New  Jerusalem,  has,  for  some  time  past,  attracted  a 
considerable  degree  of  public  attention.  It  is  generally 
known  that  the  Views  of  the  Eternal  World  and  State, 
and  the  Doctrines  of  Faith  and  Life,  held  by  these 
persons,  are  those  which  are  delivered,  as  deductions 
from  the  Word  of  God,  in  the  Writings  of  the  Hon. 
Emanuel  Swedenborg  ;  who  is  by  them  regarded  as  a 
distinguished  servant  of  the  Lord,  raised  up  for  this 
work  by  as  express  an  interference  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, as  that  by  which  a  Luther  was  raised  to  effect 
the  Reformation  from  the  corruptions  of  the  Church  of 
Rome,  or  even  as  that  by  which  a  Paul  or  a  John  the 
Baptist  was  called  forth  to  teach  the  great  truths  of 
Christianity  itself,  or  to  announce  the  first  advent  of  its 
Divine  Author.  But  while  it  has  thus  been  known  that 
such  a  body  of  Christians  exist,  and  that  such  is  the  ori- 
gin of  their  views  and  doctrines,  the  greatest  misap- 
prehension in  general  prevails  as  to  what  those  views 
and  doctrines  are,  and  the  grounds  on  which  they  are 
embraced  ;  for,  unhappily,  they  have  been  heard  of  by 
1 


2  INTRODUCTION. 

the  public  at  large,  only,  for  the  most  part,  through  the 
misrepresentations  and  perversions  of  adversaries  and 
calumniators.  We,  who  have  embraced  them,  feel  an 
entire  but  humble  assurance,  that,  were  they  seen  in 
their  true  colors,  all  the  Reflecting,  of  all  Denomina- 
tions, would  immediately  admit,  that  they  are  worthy  at 
least  of  deep  consideration  and  serious  attention;  and 
we  are  assured  further,  that,  were  such  consideration  and 
attention  bestowed  on  them,  numbers  would  rise  from 
the  investigation  with  a  conviction  of  their  truth.  If 
they  arc  inie,  to  have  just  or  erroneous  conceptions  of 
them  cannot  be  a  matter  of  indifference:  permit  then 
one  of  those  who  have  not  hesitated  to  stake  their  salva- 
tion upon  their  certainty,  to  address  a  serious  Appeal 
to  you  in  their  behalf  Great  activity  has  been  used, 
through  a  great  variety  of  channels,  to  possess  your 
minds  with  totally  false  and  extremely  injurious  con- 
ceptions respecting  the  illustrious  Swedenborg  and  his 
writings:  allow  therefore,  I  intreat  you,  one  who  has 
maturely  considered  both,  to  disabuse  you  respecting 
them, — to  disperse,  by  a  fair  statement,  the  clouds  of 
misrepresentation  in  which  the  sentiments  received  by 
us  have  been  involved, — and  to  bring  to  your  acquaint- 
ance viev/s  of  Divine  Truth  which  appear  to  be  at  once 
elevated  and  well-founded;  views  which,  we  venture  to 
assure  you,  challenge  the  strictest  scrutiny  of  Reason, 
and  come  supported  by  the  plainest  testimony  of  Scrip- 
ture. Yes,  ye  who  prize  the  inestimable  gift  of  Reason! 
permit  me  to  say,  that  never  was  a  more  gross  decep- 
tion practised  on  mankind,  than  when  it  has  been  at- 
tempted, by  idle  tales  and  false  imputations,  to  make 
you  believe,  that  Reason,  and  what  is  commonly  but 
improperly  termed  Swcdenborgianism,  are  uncombinea- 
ble  terms.  And  to  you,  ye  sincere  lovers  of  the  Scrip- 
tures! allow  me  to  declare,  that  to  persuade  you  that 
writings  and  doctrines  like  those  we  espouse,  which 
place  the  truths  of  Scripture  in  their  own  genuine  light, 
are  at  variance  with  the  truths  of  Scripture,  and  th4t 
they  originate  in  delusion,  is  to  impose  on  you  an  extra- 
vagant delusion  indeed. 

Were  I  left  to  my  own  choice  in  regard  to  the  form 
which  this  Appeal  should  assume,  it  would  be  different 
from  that  which  I  am  compelled  by  circumstances  to 
adopt.     Having  a  rich  store  to  select  from  of  the  most 


INTRODUCTIOxV.  3 

himinous  truths  and  most  satisfactory  doctrines,  upon 
every  subject  that  is  interesting  to  a  man,  to  an  immor- 
tal, to  a  Christian,  I  naturally  should  give,  to  the  most 
important  things,  the  largest  share  of  attention,  bestow- 
ing a  more  cursory  notice  on  matters  of  inferior  mo- 
ment. There  are  no  sentiments  entertained  by  us,  or 
advanced  in  the  writings  of  Swedenborg,  which  v/e  are 
not  satisfied  are  pure  and  genuine  truths:  but  in  every 
extended  system  of  doctrine  there  are  truths  of  higher 
and  of  lower  importance;  as  in  the  system  of  the  visible 
heavens  "one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory," 
and  as  the  representative  breast-plate  of  Aaron  not  on- 
ly included  the  ruby  and  the  diamond,  but  also  the  agate 
and  the  jasper.  In  making  then  an  Appeal  to  you  in  be- 
half of  our  views,  were  I  left  to  pursue  the  most  natural 
course,  I  undoubtedly  should  place  the  richer  gems,  the 
rubies  and  the  diamonds,  in  the  more  prominent  light, 
and  give  to  the  inferior  a  subordinate  station.  The 
great  truths  respecting  the  Nature,  Person,  and  Attri- 
butes, of  the  Lord  God  Almighty;  the  v/ork  of  Human 
Redemption;  the  duties  of  Repentance  and  Reformation; 
the  process  of  Regeneration  ;  the  entire  Inspiration  and 
exalted  Spirituality  of  the  Word  of  God;  the  certainty  of 
a  Future  Retribution;  the  true  Importance  of  the  Pre- 
sent Stage  of  Existence  as  that  in  which  man  makes  up 
the  form  and  character  of  his  spirit  and  internal  life,  and 
thus  fixes  his  state,  either  for  happiness  or  misery,  to 
eternity;  the  pure  Glories  of  Heaven,  and  the  real  Ter- 
rors of  Hell;  the  Wonders  of  the  Divine  Government, 
or  of  Divine  Providence,  which  extends  to  the  minutest 
occurrences  of  human  life,  and  in  all  that  it  either  ap- 
points or  permits  primarily  regards  eternal  ends: — these, 
and  such  as  these,  are  the  subjects  which  occupy  the 
distinguished  stations  in  the  doctrines  which  we  believe 
to  be  those  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  in  the  writings  in 
which  those  doctrines  are  delivered:  on  these  they  pre- 
sent views  which  are  indisputably  heavenly  and  exalted: 
on  these  then  the  pen  of  an  Apologist  would  naturally 
dwell  at  the  greatest  length  and  with  the  most  delight, 
secure  that  in  all  that  he  should  offer  respecting  them 
the  mind  of  the  unprejudiced  reader  could  scarcely  fail 
of  finding  the  most  decided  satisfaction.  But  they  who 
have  set  themselves  to  crush,  if  it  were  possible,  the  ris- 
ing New  Church  in  its  infancy, — as  Herod  sent  to  slay 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

all  the  children  in  Bethlehem  of  two  years  old  and  un- 
der,— naturally  take  the  opposite  course.  Some  of  them, 
indeed,  as  the  late  Dr  Priestley  and  a  few  others,  have 
undertaken  to  oppose  the  leading  doctrines  of  our  church 
by  argument;  but  the  greater  number  have  endeavored 
to  keep  our  real  doctrines,  as  far  as  possible,  out  of  sight, 
offering,  and  then  combating,  such  a  garbled  statement 
of  them  as  can  give  their  readers  no  just  idea  of  what 
they  are;  while  they  have  ransacked  the  pages  of  our 
valued  Author  in  quest  of  everything  ^vhich,  on  being 
brought  forward  by  itself,  separated  from  its  context,  and 
from  the  explanations  necessary  to  its  right  apprehen- 
sion, might  appear  most  repugnant  to  the  ideas  common- 
ly entertained,  and  might  with  most  plausibility  be  made 
the  ground  of  opprobrious  animadversion  ;  especially 
when  heightened  by  exaggeration  and  misstatement, 
which  have  often  been  supplied  accordingly;  not  to  men- 
tion the  many  absolute  fictions,  void  of  all  foundation 
either  in  truth  or  in  probability,  which  have  shamelessly 
been  propagated  respecting  Swedenborg,  his  writings, 
and  their  admirers.  In  appealing  to  you  then  in  behalf 
of  our  sentiments,  it  is  necessary  to  follow  the  course 
marked  out  by  our  opponents;  and  as  they  have  endea- 
vored to  raise  prejudices  by  chiefly  dwelling  upon  parts 
of  our  author's  system  and  writings  which  are  of  very 
inferior  importance,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  give,  to  such 
subordinate  points,  a  much  larger  proportion  of  attention 
than  they  otherwise  would  demand.  I  shall  take  then 
for  my  guide,  as  to  the  subjects  necessary  to  be  discussed 
and  to  be  set  in  their  true  light,  a  late  publication  by  the 
Rev.  G.  Beaumont,  of  Norwich,  which  he  denominates 
"  The  Anti-Swedenborg:  or  a  Declaration  of  the  Prin- 
cipal Errors  and  Anti-scriptural  Doctrines  contained  in 
the  Theological  Writings  of  Emanuel  Swedenborg." 
My  reasons  for  giving  my  Appeal  a  particular  reference 
to  this  publication,  are,  first,  because  the  author  of  it  de- 
clares, that  some  Lectures  delivered  by  me  in  the  city 
of  Norwich  were  the  occasion  of  his  work;  and  second- 
ly, because  this  work  has  been  the  occasion  of  many  mis- 
representations of  our  sentiments  and  of  ourselves  in  the 
theological  Reviews  and  Magazines,  the  editors  of  seve- 
ral of  which,  taking  it  for  granted  that  Mr  Beaumont's 
reports  and  views  are  correct,  have  recommended  his 
work,  have  repeated  his  statements  and  thus  have  given 


INTRODUCTIOxX.  O 

a  wide  circulation  to  the  injurious  impression  he  has  la- 
bored to  excite.  As  observed  above,  had  I  chosen  my 
own  ground  in  this  Appeal,  the  form  of  it  would  have  been 
different  from  that  which,  under  the  existing  circum- 
stances, it  will  assume:  but  the  advocates  of  the  IVew 
Church,  though  without  any  confidence  in  themselves, 
are  at  all  times  willing,  conscious  of  the  invulnerability, 
in  every  point  of  their  sacred  cause,  to  leave  the  choice 
of  the  ground  to  their  opponents,  and  to  meet  them  in  any 
line  of  attack  they  may  think  proper  to  adopt.  To  legi- 
timate argument,  (though  it  is  seldom,  alas!  that  any 
thing  of  that  kind  is  employed  against  us,)  we  hope  to 
be  enabled  to  oppose  legitimate  argument  from  sounder 
premises;  to  misrepresentations  of  facts  or  sentiments, 
the  statement  of  such  facts  or  sentiments  in  their  proper 
colors;  to  misapplications  of  Scripture,  Scripture  justly 
applied  and  fairly  explained ;  and  to  the  artifices  of  false- 
hood, the  honesty  of  truth.  But  we  will  not  return  railing 
for  railing;  nor,  because  the  most  scandalous  imputations 
have  been  fabricated  to  be  affixed  on  us,  will  we  retort 
with  anything  of  the  kind  against  our  accusers.  Wo 
commit  the  whole  cause,  with  perfect  composure  as  to 
the  issue,  into  the  hands  of  Him  whose  cause  we  believe 
it  to  be;  and  while  we  are  grateful  that  we  have  been 
enabled  to  behold  the  truth,  on  subjects  of  the  deepest 
importance  to  human  welfare,  in,  as  we  are  satisfied, 
its  own  genuine  light,  we  will  not  be  offended  with  those 
who  as  yet  see  differently,  nor  cherish  the  smallest  spark 
of  personal  ill-feeling  towards  the  bitterest  of  our  oppo- 
nents. They,  as  well  as  we,  are  in  the  hands  of  a  merci- 
ful God,  who,  as  our  doctrines  assure  us,  does  not  visit 
with  severity  for  involuntary,  much  less  for  well-inten- 
tioned error:  and  though  we  cannot  but  believe  that  our 
adversaries,  especially  when  they  misrepresent  and  ma- 
lign us,  are  in  error,  we  strive  to  cherish  the  hope,  in 
every  case  where  there  is  any  possible  ground  for  it, 
that  the  error  is  involuntary  and  well-intentioned. 

Beside  occasional  notices  of  other  assailants,  I  intend 
then,  in  the  following  pages,  to  answer  all  the  objections 
raised  by  the  Rev.  G.  Beaumont  in  the  work  above  men- 
tioned: I  do  not  propose,  however,  to  follow  that  gentle- 
man's steps  in  a  servile  or  captious  manner,  or  to  keep 
him  or  his  objections  constantly  before  the  reader.  My 
design  rather  is,  to  take  occasion,  from  his  objections, 
1# 


6  ^  INTRODUCTION. 

to  open,  upon  general  principles,  the  subjects  brought 
under  discussion;  so  that  this  Appeal  may  include  a  ge- 
neral exposition  of  the  sentiments  of  the  New  Church 
upon  the  most  important  of  her  doctrines,  and  especially 
upon  those  subjects,  even  when  of  quite  inferior  mo- 
ment in  themselves,  in  regard  to  which  the  most  com- 
mon and  plausible  objections,  have  been  raised,  and  the 
most  injurious  misconceptions  have  gone  abroad. 

I  intreat  you  then,  my  serious  friends,  to  whatever  de- 
nomination, as  regads  the  profession  of  religion,  you 
may  belong,  to  enter  on  the  perusal  of  this  Appeal  with 
candid  minds,  and  with  a  sincere  desire  to  see  the  truth, 
wheresoever,  and  with  whomsoever,  it  may  be  found. 
And  as  the  best  preparation  for  thus  seeing  it,  allow  me 
to  request  you  to  raise  your  hearts,  in  prayer  for  right 
direction  and  illumination,  to  the  Truth  Itself  Personi- 
fied, the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  are  assured  in  his 
unerring  Word,  that  He  is  "  the  true  Light  which  light- 
eth  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world;"*  He  declares 
himself  that  He  is  the  "  Truth,"!  and  again,  that  He  is 
''  the  Light  of  the  world,"  and  that  ''  he  that  followeth 
J/zrn  shall  not  abide  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light 
of  life:"J  whatsoever  then  may  be  your  present  opin- 
ions in  regard  to  his  nature  and  person,  you  cannot 
doubt,  if  you  believe  the  Scriptures,  that  he  has  the 
power  of  imparting  the  light  of  truth  to  the  mind  that 
looks  to  him  for  it.  Nor  can  you  doubt  that,  to  the  re- 
ception of  any  gift  from  him,  faith  in  his  power  to  con- 
fer it  is  a  necessary  preliminary.  When  the  two  blind 
men  intreated  his  mercy,  while  on  earth,  He  said  unto 
them,  ''  Believe  ye  that  I  am  able  to  do  this?"  and  on 
their  answering  in  the  ainrmative,  "  then  touched  He 
their  eyes,  saying.  According  to  your  faith  be  it  unto 
you.  And,"  the  sacred  record  adds,  "  their  eyes  were 
opened. "§  Who  does  not  see  the  correspondence  be- 
tween the  communication  of  the  light  of  day  to  the  eye 
and  of  the  light  of  truth  to  the  mind?  and  that  the  one 
miracle  was  performed  to  represent  the  other?  What- 
ever then  may  bethought  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  evi- 
dent it  is  that  He  is  set  forth  to  us  in  the  Scriptures  as 
the  Being  from  whom  the  inestimable  gift  of  the  per- 
ception of  divine  truth  is  to  be  received;  and   that,  in 

*Johni.  9.      t  Ch.  xiv.  6.      :f  Ch.  viii.  12.       §  Matt.  x.  28,  29,30. 


SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD.  7 

order  to  its  reception,  He  is  to  be  applied  to  with  con- 
fidence in  his  power  to  bestow  it.  Be  your  ideas  of 
Him  then,  in  other  respects,  what  they  may,  permit  me 
to  beg  of  you  to  believe,  that  He  really  has  this  power; 
to  elevate  your  hearts  towards  Him  with  corresponding 
desires;  and  in  this  frame  of  mind  to  weigh  the  state- 
ments and  considerations,  which,  in  the  following  Sec- 
tions of  this  Appeal,  will  be  laid  before  you.  Under 
this  guidance,  I  cannot  refrain  from  hoping,  that  you 
will  be  led  to  the  conclusion,  that  what  our  opponents 
call  ''  principal  errors"  are  in  reality  momentous  truths, 
and  that  what  they  denominate  "  anti-scriptural  doc- 
trines" are  in  fact  the  very  doctrines  of  the  Scriptures. 
But  do  not  let  the  fear  of  being  brought  to  this  result  by 
the  devout  experiments  which  I  have  presumed  to  re- 
commend deter  you  from  making  it:  do  not  refuse  to  put 
your  minds,  on  this  occasion,  under  the  sole  guidance  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  from  an  apprehension,  that  He 
who  is  the  Light  and  the  Truth  may  by  any  possibility 
guide  you  into  error. 


SECTION  II. 

The  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord. 

I  will  call  your  attention,  my  reflecting  brethren,  in 
the  first  place,  to  the  important  circumstance  announced 
to  us  in  the  prophetic  parts  of  the  ^^w  Testament,  and 
commonly  known  by  the  name  of  the  Second  Coming  of 
the  Lord;  with  the  important  consequence  of  such  com- 
ing, or  rather  part  of  it,  which  is  described  in  symbolic 
language  as  the  descent  from  heaven  of  a  New  Jerusa- 
lem. For  it  is  because  we  understand  these  great  pie- 
dictions  in  a  different  sense  from  that  in  which  most  per- 
sons at  the  present  time  apprehend  them,  and  because 
we  believe  that,  in  their  only  true  sense,  they  are  at  this 
day  receiving  their  fulfilment,  that  so  many  attempts  are 
made  to  hold  up  both  us  and  our  sentiments  to  derision. 
In  this  respect  we  are  treated  just  as  were  the  first  con- 
verts to  Christianity  by  the  Jews.  The  Jews  were  look- 
ing for  the  coming  of  the  Messiahj  as  the  hope  of  Israel; 


3  SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD. 

yet  were  they  almost  unanimous  in  persecuting  the  small 
band  of  their  brethren  who  affirmed  that  their  hope  was 
fulfilled.  Christians  have  ever  been  looking  with  hope 
for  the  second  coming  of  Him  whom  the  Jews  rejected: 
yet  are  too  many  of  them  eager  in  the  persecution  of 
those  who  affirm  that  this  hope  also  is  fulfilled.  To  our 
case  then  may  be  most  exactly  applied  the  noble  apology 
of  Paul  when  pleading  before  Agrippa.  "  I  stand," 
says  he,  "  and  am  judged,  for  the  hope  of  the  promise 
made  of  God  unto  our  fathers:  unto  which  promise  our 
twelve  tribes,  instantly  serving  God  day  and  night,  hope 
to  come.  For  which  hope's  sake,  king  Agrippa,  I  am 
accused  of  the  Jews."* 

I  propose  then,  in  this  Section  of  my  Appeal,  to  un- 
dertake the  defence  of  those  who  stand  in  the  same  sit- 
uation among  their  brethren,  the  professors  of  Christiani- 
ty, as  the  Apostle  Paul  and  the  other  first  Christians 
did  among  their  brethren,  the  professors  of  Judaism: 
and  I  earnestly  intreat  you,  as  believers  of  the  Scrip- 
tures,— as  holders  of  the  Christian's  hope,  candidly  to 
consider  what  I  have  to  offer.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
sentiments  I  shall  present  which  ought  to  offend  any 
one,  but,  on  the  contrary,  much  that  every  one  may  re- 
gard with  delight.  If  by  any  means  prejudices  have 
been  instilled  into  the  minds  of  any  of  you,  permit  me 
to  request  you  to  lay  them  aside  till  you  have  fairly 
heard  both  sides  of  the  question;  and  pray  do  not  con- 
sider me  as  your  enemy,  because,  with  much  respect 
and  affection,  and  without  intending  the  smallest  offence 
to  any  one,  I  lay  before  you  what,  from  the  bottom  of  my 
soul,  1  believe  to  be  the  truth. 

First  then,  I  propose  to  shew.  That  the  second  com- 
ing of  the  Lord  is  not  a  coming  in  person,  as  most  per- 
sons, in  consequence  of  taking  quite  literally  the  symbo- 
lic language  of  prophecy,  have  hitherto  supposed,  but 
that  it  means  the  restoration  of  the  true  knowledge  of 
divine  subjects,  or  of  the  genuine  doctrines  of  the  Word 
of  God,  accompanied  with  their  corresponding  influence 
on  the  heart;  in  other  words,  that  it  is  the  revival  of 
the  true  church  of  the  Lord  among  mankind;  in  which 
mode  of  considering  it,  it  is  more  particularly  meant  by 
the  manifestation  of  the  New  Jerusalem.     In  the  sec- 

*  Acts  xxvi.  6,  7. 


SECOND   COMIPfG  OF  THE  LORD.  9 

end  place  I  will  shew,  that  there  are  many  circumstances 
and  signs  in  the  situation  of  the  world  at  this  day,  which 
plainly  indicate  that  the  time  for  the  divine  interference 
described  in  Scrpiture  as  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord 
has  arrived.  In  the  third  place  I  will  point  out,  that 
there  are  circumstances  in  the  state  of  the  world  at  this 
day  in  regard  to  religion,  which  evince  that  the  restora- 
tion of  true  religion,  promised  under  the  figures  of  a 
second  coming  of  the  Lord  and  establishment  of  a  New 
Jerusalem,  cannot  be  much  longer  delayed  without  the 
most  serious  injury  to  the  best  interests  of  the  human 
race.  And  I  will  conclude  with  shewing,  that  there  is 
nothing  in  our  views  of  this  subject  which  can  be  justly 
charged  with  enthusiasm,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  they 
furnish  the  best  antidote  to  every  species  of  fanaticism 
and  spiritual  delusion. 

I.  With  regard  to  the  first  of  these  subjects  then,  it  is 
first  to  be  observed,  that  nothing  is  more  true  than  a  re- 
mark which  has  been  made  by  almost  every  commentator 
that  ever  wrote  upon  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy;  namely, 
That  the  exact  meaning  of  the  prophecies  is  never  under' 
stood,  till  the  time  of  their  accomplishment.  This  was 
strikingly  experienced  in  regard  to  the  prophecies  which 
announced  the  coming  of  the  Lord  in  the  flesh.  Al- 
though the  whole  Jewish  nation  knew  from  those  pro- 
phecies that  a  Messiah  was  to  appear,  and  the  more 
learned  among  them  could  even  point  out  truly  where 
he  would  be  born,  they  were  so  much  in  the  dark  re- 
specting everything  else  that  concerned  him,  looking 
only  for  a  carnal  and  not  a  spiritual  Saviour,  that  when 
he  did  come  they  rejected  him  and  put  him  to  death. 
And  even  the  disciples  who  received  him, — even  the 
twelve  apostles  whom  he  peculiarly  selected, — so  much 
partook  of  the  common  errors  of  their  countrymen,  that 
they  disputed  which  of  them  should  be  the  greatest,  or 
have  the  highest  post,  in  the  temporal  kingdom  which 
they  supposed  he  was  about  to  set  up.*  Even  at  the 
moment  of  his  ascension  they  asked  him  whether  he 
would  not  restore  the  temporal  kingdom  of  Israel;!  and 
it  was  not  till  they  had  received  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  from  their  glorified  Lord,  that  they  had  just  ideas 
of  the  nature  of  that  kingdom  into  which  they  had  been 

•*  Mark  x.  35  to  40.  t  Acts  i.  6. 


10  SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD. 

admitted  themselvesj  and  which  they  were  to  preach  to 
others. 

Another  remark  of  importance  is  also  here  necessary 
to  be  made ;  it  is,  That  even  token  the  Apostles  had  re- 
ceived the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  did  not  communicate 
to  them,  at  once,  all  the  truths  of  the  Christian  dispensa- 
tion. Thus  they  remained  for  a  long  time  in  the  per- 
suasion, that  the  gospel  was  to  be  preached  only  to  the 
Jews.  It  was  not  till  seven  or  eight  years  after  the 
Lord's  ascension,  that  Peter  was  convinced  that  it  was 
allowable  to  communicate  it  to  the  Gentiles:  it  then  re- 
quired a  vision  and  special  revelation  to  induce  him  to 
do  it;*  and  he  was  strictly  questioned  upon  it  afterwards 
by  his  brethren.!  I^  was  not  till  ten  years  after  this 
that  they  came  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  Gentile  con- 
verts were  not  required  to  keep  the  law  of  Moses;J  and 
they  do  not  appear  ever  to  have  clearly  seen,  that  the 
Jews  themselves  were  exempted  by  the  gospel  from  the 
observance  of  that  law. 

If  then  it  was  only  by  degrees,  and  as  occasion  re- 
quired, that  the  truths  which  were  essential  to  the  full 
knowledge  of  the  Christian  system  were  revealed  even 
to  the  Apostles,  and  that  they  were  enabled  to  under- 
stand the  precepts  and  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament 
as  they  applied  to  the  doctrines  and  circumstances  of 
Christianity,  it  is  no  wonder  if  it  be  found  to  be  true,  in 
the  third  place,  That  the  prophecies  of  the  Lord  himself , 
and  of  the  JVeio  Testament  prophets,  relating  to  his  second 
coming  at  a  future  period  then  very  distant,  and  to  his 
revival,  at  such  second  coming,  of  pure  Christianity, 
after  it  had  suffered  decline  and  perversion,  ivere  at  that 
time  hidden  from  the  Church.  Accordingly,  it  is  certain 
that  the  early  Christians  were  so  much  mistaken  respect- 
ing the  purport  of  these  prophecies,  that  they  all  expect- 
ed that  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord  was  then  imme- 
diately to  take  place;  and  even  the  Apostles  appear  to 
have  supposed  that  they  might  live  to  see  it.  They 
knew  that  the  Lord's  coming  was  to  be  preceded  by  a 
corruption  of  his  religion;  and  because  they  saw  cor- 
ruptors  of  it  even  then  appear,  they  concluded  that  the 
last  time  was  then  arrived.  Thus  the  Apostle  John 
writes,  "  Little  children,  it  is  the  last  time;  and  as  ye 

•♦  Acts  X.  t  Ch.  xi.  2,  3.  X  ^h.  xv. 


SECOND  COMING  OP  THE  LORD.  1  I 

have  heard  that  anti-christ  shall  come,  even  now  there 
are  many  anti-christs;  v^•herebJ  we  know  that  il  is  the 
last  /me."*     So  Peter  exhorts  those  to  whom  he  writes 
not  to  be  disheartened  by  the  seeming  tardiness  of  the 
arrival  of  the  expected  day,  telling  them,  "  that  scoffers 
should  come  in  the  last  days,  saying,  where  is  the  pro- 
mise of  his  coming?  for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all 
things  continue  as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the 
creation."!     But  that  even  this  Apostle  supposed,  that 
the  expected  coming,  attended  with   a  literal  fulfilment 
of  the  prophecies  which  seem  to  speak  of  the  passing 
away  of  heaven  and  earth,  would  happen  during  the  life 
of  persons  then  living,  is  evident  from  his  exhorting  them 
thus:  "  Seeing  then  that   all  these  things  shall  be  dis- 
solved, what  manner  of  persons  ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy 
conversation  and  godliness,  looking  for,  and  hasting  unto, 
the  coming  of  the  day  of  God.  "J     James  speaks  of  it  as 
near  with  equal  confidence :  he  says,  "^  Be  patient,  there- 
fore, brethren,  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord.    Behold,  the 
husbandman  waiteth  for  the  precious  fruit  of  the  earth, 
and  hath  long  patience  for  it,  until  he  receive  the  early 
and  the  latter  rain:  be  ye  also  patient;  stablish  your 
hearts;  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh. — Be- 
hold, the  Judge  stAxNdeth  at  the  door.^§     As  for  the 
Apostle  Paul,  he  speaks  on  the  subject  to  the  Thessa- 
lonians,  as  if  both  himself  and  they,  or  at  least  some  of 
them,  would  certainly  live  to  witness  it:  he  says,  "  w^e 
which  are  alive  and  remain  unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
shall  not  prevent  them  that  sleep;"  and  again:  ^'  Then 
WE  ivhich  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  toge- 
ther with  them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the 
air:"||  which  so  disturbed   those  to  whom  the  Apostle 
wrote,  that  he  found  it  necessary,  in  a  second  epistle,  to 
desire  them  "  not  to  be   soon  shaken  in  mind  or  trou- 
bled, neither  by  spirit,  nor  by  word,  nor  by  letter  as 
from  us,  as  though  the  day  of  Christ  were  at  hand," 
(by  which  he  means,  were  immediately  to  take  place,) 
because  there  must  "  come  a  falling  away  first,  and  that 
man  of  sin  be  revealed, "IT — in  which  he  refers  to  a  pro- 
phecy of  Daniel:  nevertheless  he  declares  that "  the  mys- 
tery of  iniquity  doth  already  work,^^**  and  thus  still  inti- 

*  1  John  ii.  18.  \  2  Ep.  iii.  3,  4.  j  2  Ep.  in.  11,  12. 

§  Ep.  v.  7,'8, 9.     II  1  Thes.  iv.  15,  17.    TF  2 Thes. ii. 2,  «.    **  Ver.  7. 


12  SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD. 

mates  that  the  expected  coming  of  the  Lord  was  by  no 
means  very  distant.  Accordingly,  as  the  nature  of  the 
second  coming  of  the  Lord  was  not  in  that  day  openly 
revealed;  just  as  the  nature  of  his  first  coming  had  not 
previously  been  openly  discovered  to  the  Jews;  the 
Apostles  never  offer  any  explication  of  it,  as  they  do  of 
other  prophetic  declarations  which  then  had  their  ac- 
complishment, but  always  speak  of  it  in  the  same  sym- 
bolic language  as  had  been  used  respecting  it  by  the 
Lord  himself  and  by  the  ancient  prophets.  This  lan- 
guage has  in  consequence  been  understood  according 
to  the  literal  sense  only,  by  Christians  in  general,  from 
that  time  to  this:  and  thus,  from  age  to  age,  mankind 
have  lived  in  the  expectation  of  beholding  the  Lord  ap- 
pear in  the  clouds  of  the  firmament,  and  of  being  them- 
selves caught  up  to  meet  him  at  his  coming  in  the  air.* 
But  surely,  whoever  should  reflect  a  little  upon  this 
subject  might  easily  see,  that  this  manner  of  describing 
the  second  coming  of  the  Lord  is  purely  figurative  and 
symbolic;  that  it  is  couched  in  the  purely  prophetic  style 

*  This  fact,  that  neither  the  time  nor  the  nature  of  the  Lord's  sec- 
ond coming  was  expUcitly  revealed  to  the  primitive  Christian  Church, 
nor  ev^en  to  the  Apostles  themselves,  is  of  so  great  importance,  that, 
though  I  think  it  is  conclusively  established  by  what  is  advanced 
above,  it  may  be  expedient  to  adduce  further  unquestionable  testi- 
mony for  its  confirmation. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  while  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself  often 
speaks,  in  the  gospels,  of  his  second  coming,  he  at  times  so  expresses 
himself,  that  they  who  understand  his  words  literally  must  suppose 
him  to  mean,  that  his  coming  to  judgment  was  not  to  be  protracted 
beyond  the  age  in  which  he  delivered  the  predictions.  Thus  one  of 
the  most  full  and  explicit  of  his  prophetic  declarations  is  that  in  Matt. 
xxiv. — "  Immediately  after  the  tribulation  of  those  days  shall  the  sun 
be  darkened,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  stars  shall 
fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  be  shaken  ;  And 
then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  heaven ;  and  then 
shall  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth  mourn ;  and  they  shall  see  the  Son  of 
Man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory. 
And  he  shall  send  his  angels  with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and 
they  shall  gather  together  his  elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end 
of  heaven  to  the  other.  Now  learn  a  parable  of  the  fig  tree  ;  When 
his  branch  is  yet  tender  and  putteth  forth  leaves,  ye  know  that  sum- 
mer is  nigh ;  so  likewise  ye,  when  ye  shall  see  all  these  things, 
know  that  it  is  near,  even  at  the  doors.  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  This 
generation  shall  not  pass,  till  all  these  things  he  fulfilled}' 

That  their  literal  sense  is  not  their  true  sense,  is  evinced  by  the 
fact,  that  they  have  remained  unaccomplished  for  seventeen  hundred 
years  beyond  the  period,  at  which,  according  to  that  sense,  their  ac- 
complishment should  have  taken  place. 


SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD.  13 

of  writing;  and  all  expositors  admit  that  there  is  a  dis- 
tinct prophetic  style  used  in  the  Scriptures,  in  which  the 
ideas  intended  are  representatively  shadowed  out  by  the 
images  used  for  expressing  them.     Only  look  at  the 
subject  with  some  degree  of  elevation  of  mind,  and  you 
will  see,  that  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  appear  in  the 
clouds  which  float  about  the  earth,  at  a  height  never 
exceeding  a  very  few  miles  from  its  surface,  in  a  form 
visible  to  the  natural  eyes  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth, 
is  really  an  absolute  impossibility.*    At  his  first  advent, 
indeed,  the  Lord  was  beheld  by  men  in  the  natural  world, 
and  even   dwelt  for  a  considerable  time  among  them: 
but  the  reason  was,  because  he  was  then  in  a  natural 
body,  not  yet  glorified,  assumed  from  the  mother,  Mary: 
but,  as  I  propose  to  shew  in  a  future   Section  of  this 
Appeal,  during  his  abode  on  earth,  and  at  his  resurrec- 
tion, he  made  his  human  nature  completely  divine,  and 
it  was  in  a  glorified  or  deified  human  form,  no  longer 
partaking  of  the  gross  properties  of  matter,  that  he  as- 
cended to  heaven:  Hence  he  never  was  visible  to  any 
after  he  rose  again,  except  when  he  expressly  manifest- 
ed himself  to  them,  which  was  done  by  opening  the  sight 
of  their  spirits.     Had  he  still  been  visible  to  the  natural 
eye,  how  came  it  to  pass  that  he  never  was  seen  by  the 
Jews  after  his  resurrection  ?  Had  he  still  been  in  a  body 
that  was  obvious  to  the  natural  senses,  how  did  he  ap- 
pear suddenly  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples,  when  they 
were  assembled  secretly,  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  and  the 
door  was  fastened  to   secure  them  from  interruption? 
Our  natural  sight  will  not  penetrate  through  walls  and 
doors;  how  then,  to  such  sight,  can  that  divine  form  be 
visible,  which  walls  and  doors  could  not  exclude  ?  Thus 
the  Lord's  glorified  person  can  now  only  be  made  visible 
to  man  by  opening  the  sight  of  his  spirit,  as  was  done  in 
all  the   cases  of  spiritual  appearance  recorded  in  the 
Scriptures;  and  the  Lord  can  only  thus  be  manifested 

*The  two  alvcnts  of  the  Lord  belong  to  two  different  dispensr- 
lions  :  according  to  the  order  always  observed  in  the  Divine  Econo- 
my, the  things  pecuUar  to  a  later  dispensation  are  never  openly 
revealed  under  a  former;  consequently,  It  would  have  been  incon- 
sistent with  the  order  always  observed  in  the  Divine  Economy,  had 
the  Apostles,  whose  province  it  was  to  proclaim  the  Lord's  first  ad- 
vent, with  the  discoveries  proper  to  it,  been  equally  well  informed 
respecting  the  circumstances  of  his  second. 
2 


14  SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD. 

to  those  who  are  in  the  acknowledgment  of  him:  for  this 
reason  he  never  made  himself  visible,  after  his  resurrec- 
tion, to  the  gainsaying  Jews;  and  for  the  same  reason 
he  never  will  make  himself  visible  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  world  at  large:  consequently,  it  is  not  in  a  natural 
sense  that  he  will  appear  in  the  clouds  of  the  sky,  shew- 
ing himself  to  all  tne  dwellers  upon  the  earth. 

But  that  the  Lord  is   not  literally  to  make  his  second 
advent  in  this  manner,  is  evident  from  another  consider- 
ation, the   force   of  which  every  one  may   appreciate, 
whether  he  sees  the  strength  of  the  last   argument  or 
not:   and  that  other  circumstance  is,  that  in  other  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  his  coming  is  described  in  a  different 
manner.     In  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  the  Revelation, 
he  is  described  as  coming  riding  on  a  white  horse,  with 
all  the  armies  of  heaven  followmg  him  upon  white  horses. 
Now,  who  ever  understood  that  this   description  was  to 
be  taken  literally.?  jVo  person  ever  conceived  that  He 
would  come  to  judgment  riding  on  horseback,  followed 
by  innumerable  troops  of  angels,  all  likewise  mounted 
on  horseback:  yet  there  is  no  more  reason  for  rejecting 
the  expectation  of  his  coming  in  this  manner,  and  re- 
garding the  language  as  entirely  figurative,  than  there  is 
for  adopting  that  of  his  coming  in  the  clouds,  and  regard- 
ing this  as  a  literal  representation  of  the  fact.    The  truth 
is,  that  both  are  entirely  figurative,  and  of  nearly  the 
same  signification;  since  his  coming  on  a  white  horse  de- 
notes his  restoring  the  right  understanding  of  the  Word, 
and  illuminating  thereby  the  intellectual  facuhies  of  man, 
and  his  coming  in  the  clouds  with  power  and  great  glory 
denotes  the  unfolding  of  the  literal  sense  of  the  VVord, 
and  his  presence  in  the  bright  glory  of  its  spiritual  and 
genuine  signification.      I  have  endeavored  to  prove  this 
at  length  in  another  publication;  in  which  it  is  attempt- 
ed to  be  shewn,  that  the  Lord  is  called  the  Son  of  man, 
in  Scripture,  in  reference  to  his  character  as  the  VVord 
or  Divine  Truth;*  and  it  is  always  by  his  title  of  Son  of 
man  that  the  Lord  himself  speaks  of  his  second  coming: 
So,  the  passage  just  referred  to  in  the  Revelation  ex- 
pressly states,  that  he  who  is  to  come  riding  on  the  white 
horse,  is  the  VVord   of  God.     Evidently  then  the  pro- 
mised coming  of  the  Lord  as  the  Son  of  man  and  the 

*  Plenary  Inspiration,  &c.  p.  333,  &c. 


SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD.  15 

Word  of  God,  must  denote  a  new  discovery  of  the  divine 
truth  of  his  Word, — a  restoration  of  the  genuine  doc- 
trines of  the  church, — a  revival  of  a  just  knowledge  of 
the  Lord  and  of  his  worship,  and  an  opening  of  the  sa- 
cred contents  of  his  Holy  VVord. 

But  that  this  is,  in  general,  what  is  meant  by  the  second 
coming  of  the  Lord, — by  the  appearing  of  the  Son  of  man 
in  the  clouds  with  power  and  gret»>  glory,  and  by  his  rid- 
ing in  heaven,  as  the  Word  of  God,  on  a  white  horse, — 
is  further  evident  from  the  fact,  that  it  is  to  be  ac  compa- 
nied  or  followed  by  the  descent  from  heaven  of  a  New 
Jerusalem.  We  read  in  Rev.  xxi.  "  I  saw  a  new  hea- 
ven and  a  new  earth,  for  the  first  heaven  and  the  first 
earth  were  passed  away;  and  there  was  no  more  sea. 
And  I  John  saw  the  holy  city,  New  Jerusalem,  coming 
down  from  God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorn- 
ed tor  her  husband.  And  I  heard  a  great  voice  out  of 
heaven,  saying.  Behold,  the  tabernacle  of  God  is  with 
men,  and  he  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they  shall  be  his 
people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them  and  be  their 
God."*  Now  what  can  this,  with  any  degree  of  con- 
sistency, be  understood  to  signify,  but  a  renewal  of  the 
true  church  of  God  among  mankind  }  Many,  I  know, 
apply  it  to  the  state  of  the  saints  in  heaven:  but  in  this 
they  do  the  most  palpable  violence  to  the  words:  for  how 
can  that  be  pretended  to  be  in  heaven,  which  is  expressl/ 
said  to  come  down  out  0/ heaven.^  how  can  that  describe 
the  state  of  saints  in  heaven^  which  is  expressly  said  to 
be  the  tabernacle,  or  abiding  place  of  God  ivith  men? 
Accordingly,  the  best  interpreters  apply  it  to  a  new  state 
of  the  church  on  earth.  Thus  Dr  Hammond,  a  cele- 
brated writer  of  the  Church  of  England,  comments  upon 
it  thus:  "  I'hat  it  signifies  not  the  state  of  glorified  saints 
in  heaven,  appears  by  its  descending  from  heaven  in 
both  places  [where  it  is  mentioned;]  and  that,  according 
to  the  use  of  the  phrase,  ch.  x.  1.  and  xviii.  1,  is  an  ex- 
pression of  some  eminent  benefit  to  the  church:  and  being 
here  set  down,  with  the  glory  of  God  upon  it,  it  will  signi- 
fy the  pure  Christian  Church,  joining  Christian  practice 
with  the  profession  thereof,  and  that  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition, expressed  by  the  new  heaven  and  new  earth. 
In  this  sense,"  he  adds,  "  we  have  the  supernal  Jerusa- 

*  Ver.   1,  2,  3. 


16  SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD, 

lem,  (Gal.  iv.  26)  and  the  New  Jerusalem  (Rev.  iii.  12), 
where,  to  the  constant  professor,  is  promised,  that  God 
will  write  on  him  the  name  of  God,  and  the  name  of  the 
city  of  God,  the  ISew  Jerusalem;  which  there  is  the 
pure  Catholic  Christian  Church."  As  to  its  being  first 
said,  that  John  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  be- 
cause the  former  heaven  and  earth  had  passed  away,  all 
commentators  admit,  that  that  is  a  phrase  constantly 
used  in  the  prophetic  style  to  denote  a  complete  reno- 
vation of  the  thing  treated  of, — the  putting  an  entire  end 
to  one  order  of  things,  and  the  commencement  of  a  new 
one,  either  with  respect  to  particular  or  to  general 
churches;  in  which  sense  it  occurs  in  numerous  pas- 
sages of  the  Old  Testament,  where  a  new  heaven  and 
earth  cannot  literally  be  meant.* 

II.  Here  then,  I  trust  you  will  admit,  we  have  a  clear 
and,  at  least,  highly  probable  view  of  the  signification  of 
the  prophecies  which  announce  a  Second  Coming  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  manifestation  of  a  New  Jerusalem:  the 
next  consideration  is,  Are  there  any  circumstances  and 

*  The  comraon  reader  of  the  Scriptures  naturally  supposes,  when 
he  comes  to  a  prophecy  respecting  the  passing  away  ot  heaven  and 
earth,  that  the  phrase  refers  to  the  end  of  thewoild;  though  the 
most  simple  reader  must  be  somewhat  puzzled  to  understand  how  the 
new  heaven  and  new  earth  spoken  of  as  to  succeed  the  former,  can 
relate  to  the  state  of  saints  in  heaven,  which  is  the  only  state  that 
our  natural  apprehensions  lead  us  to  look  for  after  the  end  of  the 
world.  The  learned,  however,  have  long  been  so  fully  convinced, 
that  these  phrases  do  not  in  general  relate  to  the  end  of  the  world, 
and  to  the  state  of  the  saints  expected  to  succeed  that  event,  that  it 
is  wonderful  how  they  can  still  retain  the  opinion,  that  the  end  of 
the  world  is,  nevertheless,  predicted  by  any  of  them. 

In  the  Old  Testament  as  well  as  in  the  revelation,  the  form- 
ation of  new  heavens  and  earth  is  mentioned  in  connexion  with 
the  restoration  and  re-establishment  of  Zion  or  Jerusalem :  the 
reason  is,  because  Zion  and  Jerusalem  are  constantly  mention- 
ed in  prophecy  as  types  of  the  church  itself.  In  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, when  their  restoration  is  spoken  of,  they  are  evident 
types  of  the  church  which  was  to  be  raised  in  consequence  of  the 
Lord's  coming  into  the  world,  and  called  the  Christian  church,  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  Israelitish  or  Jewish  ;  consequently,  in  the 
Revelation,  a  new  Jerusalem  can  mean  nothing  else  than  a  new 
Church, — a  restoration  of  pure  Christianity  to  more  than  its  primi- 
tive glory.  And  both  these  events  are  said  to  be  accompanied  with 
the  formation  of  a  new  heaven  and  new  earth,  to  denote  the  entire 
newness  of  the  respective  churches  as  to  their  inward  life  and  out- 
ward conversation,  internal  principles  and  external  practice  ;  all  the 
corrupt  persuasions  and  evils  which  had  perverted  the  former  chur- 
ches bemg  wholly  removed. 


SECOND  COMING  OF  THE   LORD.  17 

signs  observable  at  the  present  day,  which  lead  to  the 
conclusion,  that  the  time  for  the  great  divine  interference 
thus  prophetically  delineated  has  arrived?  Permit  me,, 
before  I  proceed  to  offer  an  answer  to  this  question,  to> 
observe,  that  an  affirmative  reply  does  not,  as  too  muiiy 
are  inconsiderately  apt  to  suppose,  necessarily  involve 
an  absurdity.  All  who  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the 
Scriptures,  must  allow,  that  the  Second  Coming  of  the 
Lord  most  assuredly  will  lake  place  at  some  period  or 
other;  and  if,  as  I  trust  has  been  conclusively  shewn,  the 
commonly  imagined  mode  of  his  appearance  cannot  be 
the  true  one,  it  is  the  more  probable  that  it  will  tako 
place,  as  is  also  plainly  predicted,  in  an  unexpected  time 
and  manner; — '^' in  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not,  the 
Son  of  man  cometh."*  It  is  to  be  expected  then,  that, 
come  when  it  may,  multitudes — perhaps  the  majority — 
of  the  Christian  world  will  be  unwilling  to  credit  the 
tidings,  and  will  deride  those  who  believe  them  as  silly- 
enthusiasts: — as  the  Lord  declares  again,  "When  the 
Son  of  man  cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  in  the  earth  ?"t 
When  therefore  we  announce  to  the  world  our  belief,  that 
this  consummation  of  divine  prophecy  is  now  taking 
place,  we  are  aware  that  we  shall  draw  upon  ourselves 
the  contempt  and  ridicule  of  the  superficial  and  the  fri- 
volous: but  we  are  at  the  same  time  sure,  that  all  the  so- 
ber and  the  reflecting, — all  who  will  candidly  examine 
the  reasons  which  have  brought  us  to  this  conviction, 
must  become  sensible  of  their  strength,  and  will  find  it 
no  easy  matter  to  put  them  aside.  Certain  it  is,  that  all 
divine  prediction  must  one  day  be  fulfilled:  if  then  what 
is  advanced  in  proof  of  such  fulfilment  having  taken 
place  be  not  altogether  unworthy  of  the  subject,  they 
who  urge  it  are  at  least  entitled  to  be  listened  to  with 
candor,  and  to  have  their  arguments  fairly  considered. 
If,  on  the  contrary,  the  mere  asserting  that  the  time  has 
arrived  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  great  Scripture-pro- 
phecy, is  sufficient  to  authorize  the  treatment  of  those 
who  advance  it  with  derision  and  contempt,  then  it  was 
right  in  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  to  treat  with  contempt 
the  testimony  of  the  Baptist;  and  it  will  be  difficult  to 
prove  them  wrong  when  they  crucified  the  Saviour  him- 
self. 

*  Matt  xxiv.  44.  t  Luke  xvii.  8. 

2* 


18  SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD. 

If  then  the  view  of  the  nature  of  the  promised  Second 
Advent  of  the  Lord  and  descent  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
which  has  now  been  imperfectly  sketched,  should  be 
deemed  probable  and  satisfactory,  1  might  urge,  that 
the  publication,  in  the  present  day,  of  a  system  of 
Christian  doctrine  in  which  such  a  view  is  afforded, 
alone  gives  reason  to  apprehend,  upon  the  principle  that 
the  prophecies  of  Scripture  are  never  exactly  understood 
till  the  time  of  their  accomplishment,  that  the  time  for  the 
accomplishment  of  these  great  prophecies  has  arrived, 
or,  at  least,  must  be  near  at  hand.  It  is  indeed  true,  as 
has  been  shewn,  that  many  have  before  concluded,  from 
the  known  signification  of  Jerusalem  in  prophetic  lan- 
guage, as  denoting  the  church,  (a  signification  expli- 
citly assigned  it  by  the  apostles,)*  that  the  New  Jeru- 
salem of  the  Apocalypse  must  signify  a  new  and  greatly 
improved  state  of  Christianity  in  the  world:  our  expli- 
cation then  of  this  sublime  prophecy  is  not  new,  except  in 
regard  to  the  greater  precision  with  which  the  particu- 
lars of  its  signification  are  unfolded:  but  the  explication 
of  the  prophecy  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord  in  the  clouds 
of  heaven,  as  denoting  his  presence  in  the  literal  sense 
of  his  Word  and  the  unfolding  of  the  bright  glory  of  its 
spiritual  or  internal  sense,  was  never  known  in  the 
church,  till  delivered  in  the  doctrines  which  we  believe  to 
be  those  of  the  *'  New  Jerusalem:"  if  then  this  is  the 
true  explication,  (and  that  it  is  so  is  capable  of  being  pro- 
ved with  a  weight  of  evidence  that  makes  negation  diffi- 
cult,"!")  this  circumstance  alone  affords  a  sign,  that  the 
time  fx)r  the  accomplishment  of  these  predictions,  in 
their  true  sense,  which  is  their  spiritual  sense,  has  ar- 
rived. The  mere  statement  of  this  argument  here  may 
not  appear  to  carry  much  weight:  but  when  it  is  con- 
nected with  a  knowledge  of  what  the  doctrines  which 
we  believe  to  be  those  of  "the  New  Jerusalem"  arc; 
when  these  doctrines  are  seen  to  exhibit  all  the  great 
truths  of  pure  Christianity  in  a  clearer  light  than  ever 
they  were  placed  in  before,  and  to  discover  with  demon- 
strative evidence  the  errors  of  the  sentiments  by  which 

*  Gal.  iv.  26  ;  Heb.  xii.  22. 
t  See  some  of  this  evidence  in   "  The  Plenary  Inspiration,"  &c. 
in  the  passage  referred  to  in  a  former  note,  and  in  the  Appendix  to 
that  work.  No.  iv. 


SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD.  19 

their  genuine  lustre  has  been  long  obscured;  when,  to- 
gether with  the  doctrines  of  pure  Christianity,  the  spi- 
ritual sense  of  the  Scriptures  is  seen  to  be  truly  unfolded, 
its  existence  demonstrated,  and  the  Word  of  God  proved 
in  consequence  to  be  the  Word  of  God  indeed: — When, 
I  say,  these  truths  are  seen,  as  they  may  be  seen,  in 
the  Writings  of  the  Author  we  so  highly  esteem;  every 
mind  which  duly  appreciates  them  will  be  apt  to  con- 
clude, that  such  discoveries  could  never  have  been  made 
by  any  unassisted  human  intellect,  and  that  the  only 
probable  way  of  assigning  them  an  origin,  is,  to  regard 
them  as  a  consequence  of  that  Second  Coming  of  the 
Lord  which  they  announce.  I  do  not  however  insist 
upon  this  argument  at  present;  but  I  trust  that  some  of 
the  considerations  which  give  it  weight,  will  appear  in 
the  progress  of  this  Appeal. 

But  beside  such  evidences  that  the  present  is  the  era 
of  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord  as  require  examina- 
tion to  discern  them,  are  there  none  which  may  be  ob- 
vious even  to  the  superficial  observer?  It  is  said,  that 
"  every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they  also  which  pierced 
him;"*  words  which  imply,  that  his  coming  must  be 
attended  with  signs  perceptible  to  every  understanding, 
even  to  those  who  do  not  and  will  not  acknowledge  him, 
how  palpably  soever  the  signs  may  declare  his  advent: 
Are  there  then  any  such  signs  as  these  exhibited  before 
the  world  at  this  day?  1  answer  without  hesitation,  such 
signs  are  abundant  and  obvious;  so  much  so,  that  there 
is  not  one  person  in  this  country,  possessing  a  share  of 
information  and  observation  sufficient  to  raise  him  above 
the  most  stupid  of  the  vulgar,  who  has  not  remarked 
them  with  astonishment, — who  does  not  behold  them 
making  continually  fresh  calls  upon  his  attention.  It  is 
true,  that,  though  the  signs  are  obvious,  the  true  cause 
from  which  they  proceed  is  not  generally  adverted  to  : 
Because  the  manner  of  the  Lord's  second  coming,  like 
that  of  his  first  coming,  differs  from  the  common  expec- 
tation, his  presence  is  not  generally  discerned  now,  any 
more  than  it  was  then:  But  this  only  strengthens  the 
parallelism  of  the  case;  since  the  Lord  rebuked  that  gen- 
eration also,  because  they  could  not  "  discern  the  signs 
of  the  times."!   i^ut  whether  discerned, — rightly  weigh- 

*  Rev.  i.  7.  t  Matt.  xvi.  S ;  Luke  xii.  56. 


20  SECOND   COMING  OF  THE  LORD. 

ed  and  discriminated, — or  not,  the  signs  have  been  such 
as  to  force  themselves  on  the  notice  of  all.  Does  not 
every  voice  confess  that  we  are  living  in  a  most  extraor- 
dinary era  of  the  world?  Is  not  every  mind  impressed 
with  the  conviction,  that  there  is  something  almost  pre- 
ternatural in  the  character  of  the  present  times?  Has  not 
the  change  which  has  taken  place  during  the  last  thirty 
or  forty  years,  the  seeds  of  which  had  been  fermenting 
for  twenty  or  thirty  years  previously,  in  the  whole  aspect 
of  Europe,  of  Christendom,  of  the  world,  such  as  has 
filled  with  amazement  every  one  who  has  witnessed  it, 
every  one  who  contemplates  it?  After  every  section  of 
the  great  family  of  mankind  has  been  seen  struggling 
through  convulsions  which  seemed  to  threaten  the  disso- 
lution of  all  human  society,  does  not  order, — a  new  and 
improved  order, — appear  again  to  be  emerging  out 
of  chaos  ?  Are  not  extraordinary  improvements,  in 
everything  connected  with  the  comforts  of  human 
life,  and  the  advancement  of  the  species  in  civiliza- 
tion, in  knowledge,  and,  ultimately,  in  virtue,  con- 
tinually springing  up?  and  are  they  not  continually 
calling  forth,  Irom  every  quarter,  exclamations  of  sur- 
prise, and  expanding  every  bosom  with  the  hope,  that 
the  opening  of  a  new  and  happier  day  than  the  world 
has  ever  before  seen  is  now  dawning  on  mankind?  But 
I  forbear  to  enter  more  particularly  into  this  delight- 
ful part  of  my  argument  at  present,  as  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  turn  to  it  again  when  I  come,  in  the  next  Section 
but  one,  to  treat  of  the  Last  Judgment, — a  subject  in- 
timately connected  with  that  of  the  Second  Coming  of 
the  Lord.  Meanwhile,  this  slight  hint  may  suffice,  per- 
haps, to  open  new  ideas  in  the  minds  of  the  Reflecting, 
when  they  turn  their  attention  to  these  striking  facts. 
At  present  I  will  only  say,  that  in  the  wonderful  visita- 
tions of  Providence,  both  in  the  way  of  judgment  and 
of  mercy,  which  the  present  generation  has  witnessed 
and  is  witnessing  still,  loe  behold  plain  signs  of  the  times 
of  the  Second  Advent.  They  are  such,  unquestionably, 
as  are  commensurate  with  the  grandest  cause  which  can 
be  assigned  for  their  production:  and  how  can  they  so 
worthily  be  considered,  as  by  beholding  in  them  the 
results  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  last  great  predictions  of 
Holy  Writ, — as  by  viewing  them  as  harbingers  of  the 
Second  Coming  of  the  Lord? 


SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD.  21 

Ultima  cumsei  venit  jam  carminis  setas  : 
Magnus  ab  integro  ssclorum  nas  citur  ordo : 
Jam  redit  et  Virgo,  redeunt  Saturnia  regna. 

III.  But,  in  the  third  place,  while  there  are  many 
circumstances  and  signs  in  the  political  and  social  aspect 
of  the  world  at  this  day,  which  indicate  that  the  time 
for  the  divine  interference  described  in  Scripture  as  the 
Second  Coming  of  the  Lord  has  arrived;  are  there  not 
also  circumstances  in  the  situation  of  the  world  in  re- 
gard to  religion,  which  evince,  that  the  restoration  of 
true  religion,  promised  under  the  figures  of  a  Second 
Coming  of  the  Lord  and  establishment  of  a  New  Jeru- 
salem, cannot  be  much  longer  delayed  without  the  most 
serious  injury  to  the  human  race?  It  may  at  first  per- 
haps appear  paradoxical,  that  I  should,  on  the  one  hand, 
advert  to  signs  of  the  times  which  promise  to  the  human 
race  a  new  career  of  improvement  and  happiness,  and 
draw  thence  an  argument  for  the  present  being  the  era 
of  the  long  expected  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  I  should  point  to  signs  which 
threaten  to  the  human  race  most  serious  injury,  to  de- 
duce thence  also  an  argument  in  proof  of  the  same  po- 
sition. But  when  the  matter  is  accurately  inspected,  it 
will  be  found  that  there  is  here  no  inconsistency,  and  that 
the  two  arguments,  instead  of  neutralizing,  do  in  reality 
strongly  support  each  other.  For  all  the  pleasing  cir- 
cumstances that  have  been  alluded  to  only  refer  to  man 
as  a  rational  being  and  an  inhabitant  of  this  world;  his 
state  in  regard  to  religion  refers  to  him  as  a  spiritual 
being  also,  and  the  destined  inhabitant  of  eternity:  an 
improvement  of  his  condition  in  the  former  respect 
evinces  an  increased  action'of  the  divine  influences  in 
his  behalf,  the  ultimate  aim  of  which  is  to  effect  an  im- 
provement of  his  condition  in  the  latter;  but  could  the 
designs  of  Providence  in  this  respect  be  frustrated,  no 
improvement  of  the  lower  kind  could  bring  real  blessings, 
or  could  possibly  be  permanent.  When  a  piece  of  new 
land  is  to  be  brought  into  cultivation,  the  first  thing  to 
be  done  is  to  clear  the  surface  of  its  useless  products, 
and  to  prepare  the  soil;  the  next  is,  to  sow  the  seeds  from 
which  is  to  be  produced  the  desired  harvest.  All  im- 
provements in  the  general  condition  of  the  human  race, 
and  in  the  natural  powers  and  attainments  of  the  human 
mind,  answer  to  the  process  of  the  preparation  of  the 


22 


SECOND   C03IING  OF  THE  LORD 


soil;  and  when  it  is  thus  prepared,  unless  the  seeds  of 
genuine  Divine  Trut!i  be  sown  in  it,  the  rankest  weeds 
will  spring  up  in  abundance,  and  all  the  pains  of  the 
preparation  be  made  abortive. 

Here  then  let  us  ask  a  few  questions.  Do  the  views 
of  religion  generally  entertained  afford  these  seeds? 
Are  the  seeds  which  they  do  afford  such  as  the  soil  of 
the  human  mind,  in  its  present  improved  state  of  prepa- 
ration, finds  congenial  to  itself,  and  which  it  will  willingly 
admit  into  its  bosom?  If  not,  is  there  not  a  manifest 
necessity,  if  man  continues  to  be  an  object  of  regard 
to  his  Maker,  that  a  new  dispensation  of  Divine  Truth, 
adapted  to  the  present  state  and  wants  of  the  human 
mind,  should  be  communicated  from  its  Divine  Source; — 
a  dispensation  by  which  the  veil  of  error,  in  which  the 
doctrines  of  genuine  Christianity  have  been  too  long 
involved,  should  be  torn  away,  and  the  face  of  pure 
^tcligion,  in  all  the  glory  of  her  native  beauty,  should 
oe  again  discovered  to  mankind?  And  should  such  a 
dispensation  be  too  long  withheld; — in  other  words, 
should  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord  be  too  long  de- 
layed; is  there  not  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  rank 
weeds  of  Infidelity,  which  have  already,  in  copious  abun- 
dance, begun  to  appear,  would  overspread  the  whole 
field  of  the  human  mind,  and  blast  all  hopes  of  any 
real  improvement,  in  wisdom  and  happiness,  for  the  hu- 
man race? 

To  consider  each  of  these  questions  with  the  attention 
which  its  importance  demands,  would  require  more 
space  thyn  can  consistently  be  allowed  to  this  portion 
of  our  Appeal:  I  shall  therefore  answer  them  very 
briefly,  and  leave  you,  to  whose  reflections  my  Appeal 
is  addressed,  more  maturely  to  weigh  them  for  your- 
selves. 

The  first  of  them, — Do  the  veiws  of  religion  now  gene- 
ralhj  entertained  afford  the  pure  seeds  of  Divine  Truthl — 
will  perhaps  receive  a  conclusive  answer  in  some  of 
the  future  Sections  of  this  Appeal:  for  if  it  shall  then 
appear  that  the  Doctrines  of  Genuine  Truth  on  the 
must  momentous  subjects  of  faith  and  life  are  different 
from  those  commonly  maintained,  it  is  evident,  that  pure 
divine  truth  is  not  in  these  to  be  found:  and  1  had  rather 
this  should  thus  appear  by  inference,  than  enter  into  a 


SECOND  COMING  OP  THE  LORD.  23 

harsh   exposure  of  what   we   esteem  the  errors   of  the 
prevaihng  views  on  religion. 

The  second  question, — Are  the  seeds  which  the  pre- 
vailing views  of  leligion  do  afford^  such  as  the  soil  of  the 
huma?i  mind,  in  its  presetif  improved  state  of  prepara- 
tion, finds  congenial  to  itself,  and  which  it  will  tcHlingly 
admit  into  its  bosom'? — may  perhaps  be  answered  without 
offence  to  any  one:  for  it  is  a  simple  question  of  fact; 
and  the  fact,  as  obvious  to  every  one,  decidedly  answers 
it  in  the  negative.  Is  it  not  a  fact  which  every  one  has 
observed,  that  the  great  bulk  of  mankind,  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  hold  their  religous  sentiments  much  more  loosely 
than  was  formerly  the  case.''  They,  even,  who  are 
most  decidedly  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion  in  general,  are,  for  the  most  part,  much  less 
tenacious  than  their  fathers  used  to  be  of  the  truth  of 
any  particular  scheme  of  it:  indeed,  were  I  to  say,  that 
iew  feel  any  considerable  confidence  in  the  truth  of  the 
doctrines  held  by  their  respective  sects  as  the  very  doc- 
trines of  Christianity,  I  believe  I  should  only  state  the 
sum  of  all  individual  experience  on  the  subject.  Among 
the  evident  signs  of  a  great  change  which  has  taken  place 
in  the  human  mind,  or  in  men's  modes  of  thinking,  this  is 
one;  that  men  are  universally  become  more  disposed 
than  formerly  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  the  doctrines 
which  they  are  required  to  believe,  and  are  becoming 
daily  less  and  less  capable  of  acquiescing  in  implicit  faith 
without  the  exercise  of  their  own  reason  and  under- 
standing: how  then  is  it  possible  that  doctrines,  the 
chief  of  which  have  always  been  acknowledged  by  their 
advocates  to  be  incomprehensible, — to  be  matters  of 
such  a  faith  as  rejects  all  interference  of  the  under- 
standing, because,  if  the  understanding  were  allowed 
its  exercise  it  would  reject  them; — how  is  it  possible 
that  such  doctrines  can  retain  their  influence  over  the 
human  mind  in  its  present  altered  state?  Most  unques- 
tionably true  is  the  remark  of  a  celebrated  Christian 
orator,  that  the  forms  under  which  religion  is  usually 
presented,  though  sufficient  to  feed  with  spiritual  suste- 
nance the  minds  of  men  in  past  ages,  are  no  longer 
suited  to  the  necessities  of  the  present,  but  are  become 
as  ''  lifeless  and  bare  trunks  containing  in  them  neither 
sap  nor  nourishment."*     Unsatisfying   dogmas,  if  they 

*  Rev.  E.  Irving,  in  his  Farewell  Sermon  at  Glasgow. 


24  SECOND   COMING  OF  THE  LORD. 

led  the  well  disposed  mind  to  the  acknowledgment  of 
his  God  and  Saviour  and  to  the  life  of  religion,  might 
answer  the  main  ends  of  true  religion,  so  long  as  the 
human  mind  could  simply  acquiesce  in  them  without  in- 
quiry: but  when  the  human  mind  has  come  into  such  a 
state  as  to  be  satisfied  with  a  blind  faith  no  longer; — 
when  it  also  is  prepared,  by  the  improved  culture  of 
its  rational  powers,  for  the  reception  of  the  seeds  of  the 
pure  and  genuine  truth; — it  no  longer  finds  such  unsatis- 
fying dogmas  congenial  to  itself; — it  no  longer  can  draw 
from  them  its  needed  stores  of  spiritual  nourishment; 
and  it  refuses  therefore  to  admit  their  seeds  into  its 
bosom.  That  this  is,  most  extensively,  the  state  of 
the  human  mind  at  this  day  in  regard  to  the  views  of 
religion  commonly  prevailing,  is  too  evident  for  the  most 
determined  advocate  of  those  views  to  deny. 

Then,  assuredly,  our  next  question  must  be  answered 
at  once  in  the  affirmative;  and  it  must  be  admitted,  That 
there  is  a  manifest  necessity^  if  man  continues  to  be  an 
object  of  regard  to  his  Maker ^  that  a  new  dispensation  of 
Divine  Truth ,  adapted  to  the  present  state  and  wants  of 
the  human  7nind,  should  be  communicated  from  its  Divine 
Source  : — in  other  words,  that  the  long  expected  Second 
Coming  of  the  Lord  should  in  these  times  be  revealed. 
This  dispensation  must  be  such,  as  to  remove  the  clouds 
of  error  in  which  the  beauty  of  pure  Christianity  has 
been  long  involved;  to  restore  the  right  understanding 
of  the  Word  of  God,  and  conclusively  to  demonstrate 
its  divine  origin;  to  exhibit  in  a  rational  as  well  as  Scrip- 
tural light  the  divinity  of  the  Christian  Redeemer,  with- 
out the  just  acknowledgment  of  which  no  Church  truly 
called  Christian  can  exist;  and  to  display  in  a  satisfac- 
tory manner  the  nature  of  man's  immortality  and  of  his 
life  hereafter,  at  the  same  time  that  it  rediscovers  the  true 
nature  of  the  means  by  which  that  immortality  may  be 
made  an  immortality  of  happiness.  In  short,  it  must 
be  a  dispensation  which  shall  effect  the  union  of  reason 
with  religion,  without  divesting  the  latter  of  its  spiritual- 
ity, as  merely  rational  (as  they  are  called)  schemes  of 
religion  invariably  have  done;  but  which  shall  add  spirit- 
uality to  reason  and  exalt  it  with  both.  Whether  the 
system  of  religion  embraced  by  those  who  humbly  trust 
that  they  belong  to  the  New  Church  of  the  Lord,  which 
they  believe  to  be   predicted  in  the  Revelation  under 


SECOND   COMING  OF  THE   LORD.  25 

the  figure  of  a  New  Jerusalem,  answers  to  this  charac- 
ter, may  in  some  measure  appear  as  we  proceed:  but 
without  reference  to  any  specific  system,  it  seems  diflS- 
cult  to  deny,  that  the  communication  of  such  a  dispen- 
sation of  Divine  Truth  as  we  have  here  slightly  sketched 
an  idea  of  is  essentially  important  to  the  present  state 
and  spiritual  necessities  of  mankind. 

For  should  such  a  dispensation  be  too  long  withheld, 
must  we  not  answer  our  last  question  also  in  the  affirm- 
ative, and  conclude,  That  there  is  reason  to  apprehend 
that  the  ranh  loecds  of  Infidelity,  which  have  already,  in 
copious  abundance,  begun  to  appear,  would  overspread  the 
whole  Jield  of  the  human  mind^  and  blast  all  hopes  of  any 
real  improvement,  in  wisdom  and  happiness,  for  the  human 
racel  The  strong  hold  of  Infidelity  is,  the  irrationality  of 
the  doctrines  commonly  affirmed  to  be  those  of  the  Word 
of  God.  These  are  such  as  reason,  when  once  it  ven- 
tures to  look  at  them,  must  reject:  and  when  such  doc- 
trines are  supposed  to  be  those  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the 
true  nature  of  the  Scriptures  themselves  is  also  totally 
misunderstood,  the  inevitable  consequence  is,  that  the 
Scriptures  are  rejected  v/ith  them.  Set  then  the  Scrip- 
tures in  their  proper  light;  especially,  prove  that  they 
are  written  by  the  laws  of  that  invariable  correspondence 
or  analogy  which  exists  by  creation  between  natural 
things  and  spiritual,  whence,  while  merely  natural  things 
are  for  the  most  part  treated  of  in  their  literal  sense, 
they  are  only  used  as  types  of  purely  spiritual  ideas; — 
thus,  prove  that  the  Scriptures  have  in  them  a  spiritual 
sense  in  which  the  wisdom  of  God  in  all  its  glory  shines: 
then  show  what  their  doctrines  really  are,  and  evince 
that  the  genuine  dictates  of  Scripture  invariably  harmo- 
nize with  the  genuine  dictates  of  Reason, — that  though 
they  contain  truths  far  beyond  the  reach  of  unassisted 
Reason  to  discover,  they  always  are  such  as  Reason, 
thus  enlightened,  accepts,  approves,  and  can  by  nume- 
rous arguments  confirm: — thus,  exhibit  the  main  top- 
ics of  religion  in  their  proper  light;  and  you  immediately 
deprive  Infidelity  of  its  power  over  the  unsophisticated 
mind,  that  retains  its  unbiassed  love  of  truth  and  desire 
of  knowing  it.  But  certainly,  nothing  like  this  is  done 
in  the  views  of  religion  commonly  prevailing;  and  we 
see  the  awful  consequences:  we  see,  not  only  deism, 
but  atheism,  unblushingly  avowed  by  numbers  even  in 
3 


26  SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD. 

this  favored  land;  while  on  the  continent  of  Europe  it 
is  too  well  known  that  they  are  far  more  universal,  both 
among  the  Roman  Catholic  nnd  the  Protestant  States. 
The  fashionable  school  of  divinity,  even,  through  a  great 
part  of  Christendom,  led  by  the  late  Dr  Semlar  and  the 
present  Dr  Eichhorn,  allows  nothing  of  the  proper  na- 
ture of  inspiration  to  the  New  Testament,  and  denies 
it  to  the  Old  Testament  altogether,  insomuch  that  the 
Consistory  of  Wurtemburg  have  gone  to  the  length  of 
forbidding  the  clergy  to  take  from  the  Old  Testament 
the  subjects  of  their  sermons.*  Here  are  plain  symp- 
toms indeed  of  a  growing  tendency  to  Infidelity:  Is 
there  anything  in  the  views  of  the  Scriptures,  and  of 
the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  commonly  entertained, 
which  is  capable  of  stemming  the  torrent?  Is  there  not 
then  reason  to  apprehend  the  most  disastrous  conse- 
quences to  the  human  race,  should  the  proper  antidote 
be  much  longer  withheld, — should  the  Second  Coming 
of  the  Lord,  in  the  sense  explained  above,  be  much  lon- 
ger delayed? 

IV.  To  come  to  the  conclusion  of  the  present  subject. 

What  has  been  offered,  may,  I  would  fain  hope,  have 
been  sufficient  to  satisfy  all  who  consider  the  important 
subjects  with  due  reflection,  that  our  pretensions  are  not 
very  extravagant  when  we  affirm  our  belief,  that  a  new 
dispensation  of  Divine  Truth  is  in  reality  in  this  day 
communicated,  and  that  we  are  actually  living  in  the 
age  of  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord.  But  some  of 
you,  perhaps,  may  be  afraid  to  give  ear  to  the  arguments 
presented  by  the  signs  we  have  considered,  and  to  ad- 
mit the  belief,  that  the  light  by  which  they  are  discov- 
ered, and  the  doctrines  with  which  they  are  connected, 
are  really  those  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  for  fear  of  in- 
curring the  reproach  of  enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm  is  the 
charge  with  which  the  world  is  ever  ready  to  stigmatize 
all  who  sincerely  believe  that  God  exercises  u  provi- 
dence in  human  affairs,  especially  in  whatever  relates 
to  his  Church,  and  who  practically  admit  the  acknow- 
ledgement, that  the  predictions  of  Scripture  are  not  to 
remain  a  dead  letter  for  ever,  but  that  it  really  is  possi- 
ble, that  what  Divine  Truth  has  foretold,  may  one  day 

♦  See  the  Intellectual  Repository  for  the  New  Church,  New  Se- 
ries, vol.  i.  p.  608. 


SECOND  COMING  OF  THE  LORD.  27 

come  to  pass.  Indeed,  none  can  consistently  ridicule 
others  for  believing  that  a  prediction  of  Scripture  has 
come  to  pass,  but  they  who  in  their  hearts  do  not  be- 
lieve in  the  Scriptures  at  all,  nor  even  in  the  Omni- 
science and  foreknowledge  of  the  Deity.  It  is  true 
that  there  have  been  wild  enthusiasts  enow,  who  have 
grounded  their  idle  fancies  on  the  prophecies  of  Scrip- 
ture. But  how  have  such  enthusiasts  usually  acted? 
By  expecting  some  great  thing  to  take  place  in  outward 
nature,  and  themselves  to  be  exalted  to  high  honor 
and  worldly  dignity; — by  fancying  that  Jesus  Christ 
would  come  in  person  to  reign  on  the  earth,  and  that 
they  that  have  faith  to  believe  this  would  be  made  his 
vicegerents  in  the  government  of  mankind; — with  other 
extravagancesof  a  similar  kind,  originating  in  a  miscon- 
ception of  the  true  nature  of  divine  prediction,  and  of 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  to  be  fulfilled.  Look  at  tae  pre- 
tensions of  the  false  Christs  and  false  prophets  that 
have  arisen  in  different  ages:  and  you  v/111  find  notions 
of  this  kind  to  pervade  them  all.  All  such  flights  of 
enthusiasm  find  a  complete  antidote  in  the  doctrine, 
which  we  are  satisfied  is  as  true  now  as  at  the  Lord's 
first  coming  in  the  flesh,  that  his  kingdom  is  n  )t  of  this 
world.  If  we  were  to  hold  out,  as  enthusiasts  have 
done,  peculiar  privileges  on  this  side  of  the  grave,  we 
perhaps  might,  like  some  of  them,  soon  find  many  more 
disciples;  but  they  would  be  such  as  would  not  be  worth 
having,  because  such  as,  like  unconverted  Peter,  sa- 
vor not  the  things  of  God,  but  the  things  that  be  of 
men.*  We  have  no  worldly  dignities  to  offer, — no, 
nor  any  short  path  to  heaven.  The  only  path  to  the 
blissful  seats,  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  is  the  path 
of  repentance  and  regeneration;  and  these  works,  we 
believe  cannot  be  radically  performed,  but  by  the  power 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  believed  in  as  the  Way,  the 
Truth,  and  the  Life,  received  in  humility,  and  combined 
with  hearty  obedience  on  the  part  of  man.  The  law  that 
regulates  admission  into  the  New  Church  or  New  Je- 
rusalem, is,  that  "  there  s'lall  in  no  wise  enter  therein 
anything  that  is  unclean,  neither  whatsoever  worketh 
abomination,  or  maketh  a  lie;"t  by  which  we  understand, 
that  whosoever  would  be  benefited  by  the  new  dispensa- 

*  Matt.  xvi.  23.  t  Rev.  xxi.  27. 


28  SECOND    COMING    OF    THE    LORD. 

tion  of  the  everlasting  gospel,  must  regulate  his  life,  from 
his  inmost  thoughts  to  his  outmost  deeds,  by  the  immuta- 
ble laws  of  order  contained  in  the  divine  commandments; 
especially  laboring  to  remove  from  his  affections  whatso- 
ever is  inconsistent  with  the  love  and  purity  of  the  hea- 
venly kingdom,  and  from  his  thoughts  or  opmions  what- 
ever is  disowned  by  the  Divine  Truth,  which  constitutes 
the  law  of  that  kingdom:  and  this  he  must  do  in  humble 
dependence  upon,  and  devout  elevation  of  his  mind  to, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  Him  who  ever  reigns  in  that 
kingdom,  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords.  We  do 
not  believe  then  that  anew  dispensation  of  the  everlast- 
ing gospel  is  offered  toman,  to  contradict,  in  the  slight- 
est degree,  former  dispensations,  but  to  fulfil  them,  by  in- 
troducing into  them  their  proper  spirit  and  life.  We  are 
convinced,  that  they  who  embrace  the  new  dispensation 
should  walk  in  newness  of  the  spirit,  not  in  oldness  of 
the  letter;  that  as  all  former  dispensations  have  required 
men  to  love  God  and  ke^;)  his  commandments,  s>  in  this 
they  must  do  so  from  a  deeper  ground  in  the  heart  and 
with  more  entire  conformity  in  their  practice.  Thus  we 
believe  that  the  distinguishing  superiority  of  the  new 
dispensation  will  consist  solely  in  these  things: — the  su- 
perior clearness  with  which  the  person  and  nature  of  the 
God  who  is  therein  to  be  worshipped  will  be  seen,  with 
a  more  plain  discovery  of  the  way  in  which  an  accepta- 
ble service  can  be  offered  to  him,  combined  with  the 
more  powerful  communication  of  a  divine  influence  from 
him,  enabling  those  who  acknowledge  him  to  fight  suc- 
cessfully against  their  own  corruptions,  and  so  to  ren- 
der to  him  this  acceptable  service.  Whilst  then  we 
point  out  to  mankind  the  signs  which  demonstrate  that 
the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord  is  arrived,  we  do  not 
mean  to  fill  their  heads  with  idle  fancies  of  no  one 
knows  what;  but  to  enforce  upon  them  the  fact,  that 
now  are  they  called,  more  unequivocally  than  at  any 
former  period,  to  acknowledge  the  only  true  God,  and 
to  be  assured  that  the  first  of  all  the  commandments  is, 
to  love  the  Lord  our  God  with  all  the  heart,  soul,  mind, 
and  strength,  and  that  the  second  is  like  unto  it — to 
love  our  neighbor  as  ourselves.  We  only  wish  to 
urge  upon  them  the  necessity  of  becoming  such  ser- 
vants of  God  and  such  friends  of  mankind,  by  the  as- 
surance that  every  divine  aid  is  offered  that  v/ill  enable 


THE  RESURRECTION.  29 

them  to  do  so.  If  this  be  enthusiasm,  it  is  an  enthusiasm, 
allow  me  to  say,  which  every  sincerely  well  disposed 
mind  ought  by  all  means  to  foster:  it  is  an  enthusiasm 
which  every  friend  of  humanity  ought  to  desire  should 
become  universal:  for  it  is  an  enthusiasm  which,  if  once 
made  universal,  would  speedily  banish  evil  and  misery 
from  the  earth,  and  bring  on  halcyon  days  of  universal 
contentment  and  peace. 


SECTION  III. 

The  Resurrection. 


The  next  subject  which  seems  most  naturally  to  de- 
mand our  attention,  after  having  considered  that  of  the 
Second  Coming  of  the  Lord,  is  that  of  the  Last  Judg- 
ment; for  that  the  execution  of  the  Last  Judgment  must 
accompany  the  arrival  of  the  Second  Advent,  is  univer- 
sally believed  by  Christians,  and  is  most  plainly  announ- 
ced in  the  Word  of  God.  But  here  a  question  of  great 
importance  arises,  respecting  the  scene  of  the  last  judg- 
ment.— whether  it  is  to  be  in  the  natural  or  in  the  spirit- 
ual world.  As  the  common  opinion  is,  not  only,  as  the 
apostle  declares,  that  man  is  to  be  judged  "  for  the  things 
done  in  the  body,"  but  also,  beyond  what  either  the 
Apostle  or  any  other  divine  authority  has  declared,  that 
he  is  to  be  judged  in  the  body,  the  general  expectation 
is,  that  the  body  is  to  be  called  out  of  the  tomb  for  this 
purpose;  and,  consequently,  that  the  scene  of  the  last 
judgment  is  to  be  in  this  world  of  nature.  The  Scriptures 
have  conducted  us  to  a  quite  different  conclusion.  We 
are  satisfied,  upon  their  authority,  which  here  assuredly 
coincides  with  the  plainest  dictates  of  reason,  that,  when 
the  body  is  laid  aside  by  death,  we  have  done  with  it  for 
ever;  that  man  then  becomes  a  living  inhabitant  of  a 
spiritual  world,  in  which  he  is  to  continue  his  existence 
forever;  and  that,  consequently,  the  Last  Judgment  can 
only  be  accomplished  in  the  world  in  which  all  the  hu- 
man race  are  collected  together, — that  is,  in  the  spiritual 
world,  and  not  in  the  natural  world,  to  which  they  who 
have  once  quitted  it  will  return  no  more.  Before  then 
3* 


30 


THE    RESURRECTION. 


you  can  decide  upon  the  subject  of  the  Last  Judgment, 
it  is  necessary  that  I  should  appeal  to  you  upon  that  of 
the  Resurrection. 

In  my  last  section,  on  the  vSecond  Coming  ofthe  Lord, 
I  had  no  occasion  to  notice  the  Rev.  Mr  Beaumont,  or 
his  publication,  the  Anti-Swedenborg;  as,  though  that 
subject  is  of  primary  importance,  and  just  views  of  it  are 
essential  to  the  right  appielicnsion  of  some  of  the  points 
against  which  Mr  B.  has  directed  his  attacks,  where- 
fore it  was  by  no  means  to  be  passed  over  by  me,  he  has 
not  bestowed  upon  it  any  share  of  his  attention.  But 
the  doctrine  ofthe  New  Church  on  the  subject  of  the 
Resurrection  is  assailed  by  that  gentleman  with  peculiar 
vehemence;  wherefore,  in  this  exposition  and  defence  of 
it,  I  shall  chiefly  shape  my  remarks  with  a  direct  view  to 
his. 

Allow  me  then  to  state,  in  a  few  words,  the  sum  of 
our  views  upon  this  subject;  they  being  such  as  we  think 
are  peculiarly  adapted  to  recommend  themselves,  inde- 
pendently of  all  argument,  to  the  Serious  and  the  Re- 
flecting. 

V/e  believe  then  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures, 
upon  the  important  question  ofthe  Resurrection,  to  be 
this:  That  man  rises  from  the  grave, — not  merely  from  , 
the  grave  in  the  earth,  but  from  the  grave  of  his  dead 
material  body,  immediately  after  death;  that  he  then 
finds  himselfin  a  world,  not  of  mere  shadows,  but  of  sub- 
stantial existences,  himself  being  a  real  and  substantial 
man,  in  perfect  human  form,  possessing  all  the  senses 
and  powers  proper  to  a  man,  though  he  is  no  longer  ca- 
pable of  being  seen  by  men  in  this  world,  whose  senses 
and  capacities  of  perception  are  comparatively  dull  and 
gross,  owing  to  their  being  still  shrouded  over  with  a 
gross  body  of  unapprehensive  clay. 

The  latter  part  of  this  assertion,  that  the  spirit  of  a  man 
is  a  real  substance,  though  not  a  material  substance,  and 
thus  is  the  man  himself,  is  capable  of  being  proved,  as 
may  perhaps  appear  in  the  sequel,  by  most  conclusive 
arguments,  both  from  reason  and  Scripture:  but,  I  will 
here  confine  myself  to  the  former  part  ofthe  doctrine; — 
that  man  rises  from  the  dead  immediately  after  death; 
and  this  virtually  includes  the  other. 

Permit  me  then  here  to  give  vent  to  my  own  feelings 
by   saying,  that  this  is  indeed  a  "  most  glorious  and 


THE    RESURRECTIOX.  31 

heart-cheering  doctrine:"  v/hereas  to  suppose,  with  the 
writer  of  the  Anti-Swedenborg,  that  there  is  no  real  res- 
urrection except  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  is  to  open 
the   door  to  the   most  dark  and  gloomy  apprehensions. 
What  is  become  of  the  first  inhabitants  of  this  globe,  and 
all  who  lived  before  the  flood?  Can  any  one  seriously 
suppose,  that  they  are  out  of  existence,  or,  at  best,  have 
only  a  very  imperfect  and  uncomfortable  existence,  be- 
cause destitute  of  that  body  which  has  been  undistin- 
guishably  mixed  with  the    elements  for    five  thousand 
years?  and  that  they  are  still  to  pine  for  no  one  knows 
how   many  thousand  years  longer,  before   they   will  be 
themselves   again,   or  can  enjoy  the  happiness   which 
Scripture   everywhere    promises  to  the  saints    without 
anywhere  hinting  at  the  immeasurably  long,  dreary  in- 
terval of  suspense,  which  they  are  to  languish  through 
before  they  can  enjoy  it?  How  does  such  a  notion  com- 
port with  the    answer   of  the  Lord  Jesus   Christ  to   the 
carnal-minded  Sadducees,  half  whose  doctrine,  at  least, 
has  been  translated  into  the  creed  of  the  opposers  of  the 
New  Church:  for  the  Sadducees  affirmed,  '^  that  there  is 
no  resurrection,  neither  angel,  nor  spirit:''*  and  the  op- 
posers  of  the  New  Church,  such  at  least  as  the  author 
of  the  Anti-Swedenborg,  affirm,  that   there  is  no  real 
resurrection  but  that  of  the  body.     But  is  not  the  an- 
swer of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  the  ancient  Sadducees, 
an  answer  to  these  modern  ones  likewise?  "  Now  that 
the  dead  are  raised,"  saith  He,  "  even  Moses" — Moses, 
who  never   openly    treats  of  the   subject, — but  "  even 
Moses  shewed  at  the  bush,  when   he   calleth  the    Lord 
the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God 
of  Jacob:  for  he  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the 
living:  for  all    live  unto  him."t     Is  not  this  affirming 
that  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  were  living  at  the  very 
time  that  this  was  written  of  them  by  Moses, — that  they 
were  not  then  slumbering  in  their  graves?  Most   truly 
does  our  Accuser  say,  "  that  the  doctrine  of  </ie  resur- 
rection may  justly  be  called  the  key-stone  of  the  gospel 
dispensation:" J  but  to  say,  as  this  author  does,  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  is  so,  is  grossly 
to    pervert   the  plain    meaning   of  the  gospel-teaching. 
This  writer,  in  his  zeal  for  his  body  of  clay,  goes  so  far  as 

*  Acts  xxiii.  8.     t  Luke  xx.  37,  33.     J  Anti-Swedenborg,  p.  48. 


32  THE    RESURRECTION. 

io  affirm,  that  to  deny,  not  the  resurrection,  observe,  but 
he  resurrection  of  the  bodijy  if  it  is  not  the  sin  against  the 
Holy  Ghost,  is,  in  his  serious  opinion,  something  very 
lear  it!*  and  then,  as  if  determined  to  cut  us  off  from  all 
lope  of  salvation,  he  adds,  "  to  hear  Christ  say,  '  J  will 
-aise  himup  at  the  last  dai/,^  and  then  tacitly  [as  he  means 
o  say  we  do]  to  give  Christ  the  lie," — such  is  his  shock- 
nfj  lanjjuage! — "  must  be  a  crime  of  no  common  de- 
»cription."t  But  who  that  knows  the  use  of  language, 
would  call  the  material  body  him?  The  Lord  is  not  here 
speaking  of //le  body,  but  of  the  man;  "  I  will  raise  him 
up  at  the  last  day;"J  not,  "  1  will  send  his  soul  from  hea- 
ven to  gather  up  the  ashes  of  his  body."  And  that  man 
is  not  to  slumber  in  a  state  of  insensibility  till  the  last 
day  of  the  world,  but  that  it  is  the  last  day  with  every 
man  when  he  dies,  is  evident  from  the  manner  in  which 
the  Lord  corrects  Martha's  mistaken  notion  respecting 
it.  "  Jesus  sailh  unto  her.  Thy  brother  shall  rise  again. 
Martha  saith  unto  him,  1  know  that  he  shall  rise  again 
in  the  resurrection  at  the  last  da?/."^  Here  Jesus  per- 
ceives that  she  had  in  her  mind  only  the  notion  of  a  distant 
resurrection:  wherefore  He  replies,  "  I  am  the  resurrec- 
tion and  the  life:  he  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he 
were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live,  and  he  that  liveth  and  be- 
lieveth in  me,  shall  never  cHe."||  Here,  because  in  the 
divine  idea,  no  life  but  spiritual  life  is  worthy  of  the  name, 
(he  privilege  of  enjoying  it  is  confined  to  believers;  but 
of  these  the  divine  Saviour  declares,  that  their  life  shall 
never  be  perceptibly  interrupted.  They  have  begun  to  live 
here,  and  they  shall  live  on  to  eternity, — "  they  shall 
NEVER  die."  To  affirm,  then,  that  there  is  no  real  resur- 
rection but  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  to  apply  all 
that  is  said  upon  the  subject  in  Scripture  to  this  imaginary 
resurrection ;  to  affirm  particularly,  that  it  is  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body  which  the  Lord  means,  when  he  says,  "  I 
will  raise  him  up  at  the  last  day;" — I  will  not  adopt  the 
coarse  and  profane  language  of  our  adversary,  by  saying 
it  is  giving  Christ  the  lie, — but  I  must  say,  it  is  not  only 
directly  contradicting  him,  but  it  is  making  him  contra- 
dict himself.  Jesus  Christ  affirms,  that  he  who  believeth 
in  him  shall  never  die;  and  to  prevent  men  from  wonder- 

•  P.  49,  50.  t  Anti-Swedenborg,  p.  50.  |  John  vi.  40. 

§  Ch.  xi.  23,  24,  ||  Ver.  26. 


THE    RESURRECTION.  33 

ing  how  this  can  be,  when  men  do  die,  to  all  appearance, 
at  the  close  of  their  life  in  the  world,  he  assures  them,  that 
at  the  last  day  of  this  life  they  shall  be  transplanted  into  life 
eternal: — "  Every  one  that  seeth  the  son  and  believeth 
on  him  shall  have  everlasting  lifcy  and  I  will  raise  him  up 
at  the  last  day."  That  would  be  a  strange  sort  of  ever- 
lasting life,  which  was  to  be  interrupted  by  an  interval 
of  no  one  knows  how  many  thousands  of  years.  Even 
supposing  that  the  body  were  to  live  again,  it  is  quite  ev- 
ident that  it  is  not  the  life  of  the  body  of  which  the  Lord 
is  speaking,  when  he  speaks  of  everlasting  life,  since  the 
life  of  the  body,  is  not,  upon  any  hypothesis  an  everlast- 
ing life:  consequently,  it  is  not  the  body  of  which  he 
speaks  when  he  says,"  Twill  raise  him  up  at  the  last 
day."  The  whole  declaration  is  only  applicable  to  the 
spirit,  which  is  the  man  himself,  to  v.'hich  the  body  is 
only  an  instrument  of  service  while  he  remains  in  a 
w^orld  and  state  where  its  services  are  required:  "The 
flesh,"  as  the  Lord  says  in  the  same  discourse,  "  profit- 
eth  nothing."*  The  spirit  only  is  the  real  man:  it  is  of 
the  spirit  only  that  life  everlasting  can  be  predicated:  it  is 
this  only  that  can  be  raised  to  the  eternal  world:  and 
this  resurrection,  the  Lord  assures  us,  the  spirit  shall 
experience,  not  after  a  sleep  of  ages,  or  at  best  a  state 
for  ages  of  half  conscious  existence,  but,  in  all  the  vigor 
of  true  life,  as  soon  as  it  is  emancipated  from  the  shell 
of  clay.* 

Our  accuser,  however,  applying  to  the  flesh  all  that  is 
said  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  true  resurrection,  hesitates 
not  to  add  reviling  to  his  anathemas  against  those  who 
can  find  in  the  Scriptures  no  such  sentiment.  "A  doc- 
trine," he  sa;.s,  "  so  glorious — so  awfully  sublime — so 
clearly  taught  in  the  sacred  records  [where  it  is  not  once 
mentioned] — so  universally  believed  from  the  beginning 
of  the  Christian  era  [he  might  have  said, — before  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era, — 'for  it  is  a  purely  Jew- 
ish doctrine,  and  from  the  Jews  those  Christians  who  did 
believe  it  received  it] — so  commonly  believed  by  all 
sects  and  denominations  of  Christians  even  in  our  day, 
with  the  exception  of  Swedenborgians,  who,  as  many 
will  think,  deserve  not  the  name  of  Christians;  this 
blessed  doctrine  I  say,  is  not  to  be  given  up  at  the  ipse 

*  John  vi.  63. 


34  THE    RESURRECTION. 

dixit  of  a  madman,"  8tc.*  I  make  no  remark  upon  the 
liberality  and  Christian  candor  of  this  sentence,  but 
appeal  to  you,  my  reflecting  readers,  to  judge  of  it  as 
it  may  deserve.  But  why  is  it  that  most  Christians  at 
this  day  hold  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  ? 
I  answer,  Because  they  have  not  searched  the  Scrip- 
tures for  themselves,  but,  finding  much  said  in  the  Scrip- 
tures respecting  a  resurrection,  and  having  been  told 
from  their  childhood  that  the  body  is  to  rise  again,  they 
conclude,  with  our  accuser,  that  the  resurrection  spoken 
of  is  the  resurrection  of  the  body.  And  as  we,  for  de- 
nying it,  are  to  be  put  out  of  the  pale  of  Christianity; 
and  because  our  accuser  here  finds  it  convenient  to  call 
the  intelligent  Swedenborg,  who  proves  its  falsehood,  a 
madman; — (though  he  elsewhere  admits  that  a  man  who 
could  write  as  he  did  could  not  have  been  very  mad, 
though  he  thinks  he  must  have  been  a  little  mad;t)  as, 
for  these  reasons,  nothing  that  we  can  allege  against  it 
from  Scripture  or  reason  is  to  be  listened  to  for  a  mo- 
ment, we  will  call  another  witness.  It  will  not  be  said, 
I  suppose,  that  the  great  reasoner  Locke, — the  author 
of  a  work  on  the  reasonableness  of  Christianity,  was  not 
a  Christian,  or  that  he  was  a  madman:  and  this  great 
man  has  left  on  record  a  testimony  of  the  conclusion  to 
which  every  rational  man,  and  every  unprejudiced  Chris- 
tian, must  come,  who  candidly  examines  the  subject  for 
himself  In  his  third  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Worcester, 
cited  also  in  the  note  at  the  end  of  the  chapter  on  Iden- 
tity and  Diversity,  in  his  Essay  on  the  Human  Under- 
standing, he  says,  "  The  resurrection  of  the  dead  I 
acknowledge  to  be  an  article  of  the  Christian  faith:  but 
that  the  resurrection  of  the  same  body,  in  your  Lord- 
ship's sense  of  the  same  body,  is  an  article  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  is  what,  I  confess,  I  do  not  yet  know.  In  the 
JVew  Testament  (wherein,  I  think,  are  contained  all  the 
articles  of  the  Christian  faith,)  I  find  our  Saviour  and 
the  apostles  to  preach  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and 
the  resurrection  from  the  dead,  in  many  places:  but  I 

*  Anti-Svvedenborg,  p.  49. 

I  "  It  does  appear  to  many,  that  either  much  learning,  or  some- 
tliing  else  unknown,  had  made  Baron  Swedenborg  mad,  iinotin  the 
liighest,  yet  in  a  lower  degree."  Anti-S.  p.  6.  And  in  pp.  7  and 
8  ome  important  doctrines  of  Swedenborg's  are  admitted  to  be  ex- 
cellent. 


THE    RESURRECTION.  35 

do  not  remember  any  place  where  the  rcsitrrectinn  of  the 
same  body  is  so  much  as  mentioned;  nay,  which  is  very 
remarkable  in  the  case,  T  do  not  remember,  in  any  place 
of  the  New  Testament,  (where  the  general  resurrection 
of  the  last  day  is  spoken  of,)  any  such  er^pression  as  the 
resurrection  of  the  body,  much  less  of  the  same  body.^"* 
Mr  L.  afterwards  adds,  what  many  would  find  a  useful 
caution  against  a  too  great  facility  in  taking  for  granted 
that  all  that  is  usually  delivered  as  the  doctrine  of  Scrip- 
ture really  is  such.  "  I  must  not  part  with  this  article 
of  the  resurrection,"  says  he,  '^  without  returning  my 
thanks  to  your  Lordship  for  making  me  take  notice  of  a 
fault  in  my  Essay.  When  I  wrote  that  book,  /  took  it 
for  granted,  as  I  doubt  not  but  many  others  have  done, 
that  the  Scriptures  had  mentioned,  in  express  terms,  the 
resurrection  of  the  body: — but  upon  the  occasion  your 
Lordship  has  given  me,  in  your  last  letter,  to  look  a 
little  more  narrowly  into  what  revelation  has  declared 
concerning  the  resurrection,  and  finding  no  such  express 
words  in  Scripture  as  that  ^  the  body  shall  rise,  or  be  raised, 
or  the  resurrection  of  the  body,''  I  shall,  in  the  next  edi- 
tion of  it,  change  these  words  of  my  book,  ^  the  dead 
bodies  of  men  shall  rise,' — into  those  of  Scripture,  '  the 
dead  shall  rise.'  "  Afterwards  in  strict  agreement  with 
our  sentiments,  which  affirm  that  man  rises  with  a  real 
substantial  body,  though  not  with  a  material  body,  Mr 
Locke  adds,  '^  Not  that  I  question  that  the  dead  shall  be 
raised  with  bodies;  but  in  matters  of  revelation  I  think 
it  not  only  safest,  but  our  duty,  as  far  as  any  one  delivers 
it  for  revelation,  to  keep  close  to  the  words  of  the  Scrip- 
ture; unless  he  will  assume  to  himself  the  authority  of 
one  inspired,  or  make  himself  wiser  than  the  Holy  Spirit 
himself" 

In  these  few  sentences,  it  must,  I  think,  be  generally 
felt,  that  Mr  Locke  has  fully  anticipated  all  the  argu- 
ments of  our  accuser  as  professed  to  be  drawn  from 
Scripture,  and  has  shewn  that  the  passages  addaced  by 
him  as  proving  his  favorite  notion,  in  reality  prove  no 
such  thing.  Whether  Mr  Locke's  own  views  on  the 
subject  were  in  all  respects  correct,  is  unimportant;  he 
has  here  sufficiently  evinced,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  body  cannot  be  proved  by  Scripture. 
We  will,  however,  run  over  the  texts  brought  against  us 
by  Mr  Beaumont,  to  demonstrate  that  Mr  Locke  is  right 


36  THE    RESURRECTION'. 


/ 


in  his  assertion, — that  not  one  of  them  speaks  of  any 
resurrection  of  the  body. 

The  three  first  of  Mr  Beaumont's  texts  are  taken  from 
a  class  of  testimony  which  Mr  Locke  would  not  admit 
in  this  case, — the  books  of  the  Old  Testament;  for  cer- 
tainly, whenever  the  writers  of  the  Old  Testament  speak 
of  a  resurrection,  they  speak  of  it  in  a  manner  so  evi- 
dently figurative,  that  no  judicious  person  would  rely 
much  upon  an  argument  drawn  from  the  literal  sense  of 
their  expressions.  It  is  true  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
draws  thence  an  argument  against  the  Sadducees,  which 
we  receive  as  most  conclusive  evidence  of  the  reality  of 
a  resurrection,  and  that  it  takes  place  immediately  after 
death:  but  here  we  have  the  Old  Testament  expounded 
by  an  infallible  Interpreter,  and  we  receive  the  important 
truth  upon  the  authority  of  the  Interpreter,  rather  than 
because  it  is  clearly  discovered  in  the  text  from  which  he 
deduces  it.  Indeed,  we  are  authoritatively  assured  by 
the  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  is  not,  in  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament, 
openly  revealed:  thus  the  Apostle's  assertion,  that  "  life 
and  immortality  were  brought  to  light  through  the  gos- 
pel," would  not  be  true,  if  life  and  immortality  had  been 
brought  to  light  under  the  law.  In  defiance,  however, 
of  the  authority  of  the  Apostles,  Mr  B.  with  many  others, 
would  fain  have  us  believe,  not  only  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection,  but  that  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
may  be  clearly  proved  from  the  Old  Testament, 

He  opens  his  array  of  texts  with  the  celebrated  pas- 
sage of  Job,  "  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that 
he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth:  and 
though,  after  my  skin,  worms  destroy  this  body^  yet  in 
my  flesh  shall  I  see  God:  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself, 
and  mine  eyas  shall  behold,  and  not  another;  though  my 
reins  be  consumed  within  me,"*  This  text,  which  is 
commonly  understood  to  teach  the  resurrection  of  the 
body,  afix)rds  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  mistakes  into 
which  it  is  easy  to  run,  when  we  read  Scripture  with 
preconceived  opinions  in  our  minds.  For  who  does  not 
see,  whose  eyes  are  not  closed  by  his  preconceived 
opinions,  that  this  text  has  nothing  at  all  to  do  with  the 
subject.?  Job  is  here  speaking  of  the  wretched  state  of 

*Jobxix.  25,  26,27. 


\ 


THE    RESURRECTIO-N".  37 


affliction  to  which  he  was  then  reduced,  and  declaring 
his  confidence  that  God  would  interpose  to  deliver  him 
before  his  death^ — not  at  the  end  of  the  world.  We  read 
in  chap.  ii.  that  Satan,  after  having  grievously  afflicted 
Job  in  his  property  and  family,  demanded  ''  permission 
to  touch  his  bone  and  his  flesh,"  and  that  he  "  smote 
Job  with  sore  boils  from  the  sole  of  his  foot  unto  his 
crown."  Accordingly,  Job  complains,  a  few  verses  be- 
fore those  quoted  by  Mr  B.,  of  being  wasted  away  to 
mere  skin  and  bone;  which  he  expresses  by  saying, 
"  JMy  bone  cleaveth  to  my  skin,  as  to  my  flesh,  and  I 
am  escaped  with  the  skin  of  my  teeth."*  Because  his 
friends  reproached  him,  imputing  his  misfortunes  to  his 
wickedness,  he  adds,  "  Have  pity  upon  me,  have  pity 
upon  me,  O  my  friends;  for  the  hand  of  God  hath  touch- 
ed me.  Why  do  ye  persecute  me  as  God,  and  are  not 
satisfied  with  my  flesh?"! — that  is,  still  treat  him  as 
though  he  had  not  been  sufficiently  punished,  though  his 
flesh  v/as  all  wasted  away.  Wherefore  he  proceeds  to 
express  his  confidence,  that,  notwithstanding  their  un- 
charitable judgment  of  him,  he  may  still  rely  on  God  as 
his  Vindicator,  Redeemer,  or  Deliverer,  and  that  God 
will  at  last  appear  in  his  behalf;  not  at  the  last  day  of 
the.  icjrld,  (neither  does  the  word  daj/  occur  in  the  ori- 
ginal,) but  at  the  conclusion  of  his  state  of  trial.  When 
he  adds,  '*  and  though  after  my  skin,  worms  destroy  this 
body,  [where,  likev/ise,  neither  worms  nor  hod?/  are  men- 
tioned in  the  original,]  yet  in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God;" 
he  does  not  mean  to  comfort  himself  with  the  thought, 
that  though  his  body  must  now  die,  it  will  rise  again, 
and  he  shall  see  God,  in  his  flesh,  perhaps  ten  thousand 
years  afterwards  ;  but  he  expresses  his  confidence  that, 
thoiigh  wasted  to  a  shadow,  he  shall  not  die,  but  shall 
see  God  interpose  in  his  hehnK  (chile  he  still  is  living  in 
the  ficsh  and  has  not  put  it  ofT  by  death.  Therefore  he 
adds,  that  he  shall  see  God  for  himself,  and  his  own  eyes 
shall  behold  him  and  not  another's:  meaning,  that  God 
v/ill  net  put  offthe  vindication  of  his  innocence  till  after 
his  death,  in  Avhich  case,  though  another  might  see  justice 
doiic  him,  it  would  be  no  benefit  to  himself,  but  that  he 
himself  shall  experience  the  deiiverence;  and  this  not- 
withstanding his  anguish,  mental  and  !>odily,  was  aggra- 

^  Ch.  six.  20.  t  Job  xi2.  21,  22. 

4 


38  THE    RESURRECTIOxV. 

vated  to  such  a  degree,  that,  as  he  adds,  "  his  reins  are 
consumed  witliin  him."  Accordingly,  all  this  pious  con- 
iidence  of  his  was  justified  by  the  event,  and  his  hopes 
were  completely  fulfilled.  At  the  end  of  the  book,  God 
himself  is  represented  as  interposing.  In  the  passage 
we  have  been  considering.  Job  says,  "  In  my  flesh  shall 
I  sen  God,  whom  /  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes 
shall  beJiold,  and  not  another:"  ^In  the  last  chapter  he 
says,  "  I  have  heard  of  thee  by  the  hearing  of  the  ear, 
but  now  7?iine  eye  seeth  thee."*  In  the  passage  we  have 
been  considering,  Job  declares  his  reliance  that  he  should 
see  God  interfere  as  his  Redeemer  or  Deliverer:  In  the 
last  chapter  God  docs  interfere  in  this  character;  "  and 
the  Lord  turned  the  captivity  of  Job,  when  he  prayed  for 
his  friends:  also,  the  Lord  gave  Job  twice  as  miicJi  as  he 
had  before.''^  "  And  after  this  lived  Job  a  hundred  and 
forty  years,  and  saw  his  sons,  and  his  son's  sons,  even 
four  generations.  So  Job  died,  being  old  and  full  of 
days."t  Can  the  parallelism  between  the  expectation 
and  the  accomplishment  be  more  complete.''  What  vio- 
lence then  is  done  to  the  text,  when  the  conclusion  of 
the  history  is  disregarded,  and  Job's  hopes  are  referred 
to  an  imaginary  resurrection  of  his  body!  And,  surely, 
to  put  this  text  in  the  front,  to  prove  the  resurrection  of 
the  body,  when  it  has  no  relation  to  a  resurrection  of  any 
sort,  is  equivalent  to  an  acknowledgment  that  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body  is  not  a  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures.J 

"  Ch.  xlii.  5.  i  Job  xlii.  10, 16,  17. 

X  To  the  above  remarks  may  be  added,  that  many  of  the  most  em- 
inent of  those  who  contend  for  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  candid- 
ly allow  that  this  famous  passage  has  nothiuio:  to  do  with  the  ques-  " 
tion.  This  admission,  for  instance,  is  made  by  the  learned  Dr  Ho- 
dy,  in  his  work  in  defence  of  the  Resurrection  of  the  same  Body ; 
and  he  cites,  to  the  same  purport,  the  following  remarks  of  Grotius, 
which  I  translate  as  closely  as  possible:  "Not  a  few  Christians 
have  used  this  text  to  prove  the  resurrection :  but  to  do  this,  they 
are  compelled  in  their  versions  to  depart  much  from  the  Hebrew,  as 
has  been  observed  by  Mercer  and  others.  The  Hebrew"  adds  Gro- 
tius, "  is  to  this  effect:  '  I  know  that  my  redeemer  liveth,  and  that 
He  at  last  will  stand  in  the  field  (that  is,  will  be  victor.)  Although 
they  (his  distempers)  should  not  only  consume  my  skin,  but  also 
this,  (namely,  the  fat  which  is  under  the  skin,)  nevertheless  in  my 
flesh  I  shall  see  God  (that  is,  shall  experience  his  favor :)  I,  I  say, 
with  these  my  eyes,  I,  not  another  for  me.  My  reins  have  failed 
within  me,  (that  is,  my  inmost  parts  are  devoured  with  indignation 
at  yoxir  reproaches.)'  " 


THE    RESURRECTION.  39 

Mr  Beaumont's  next  citation  is  the  following :  "  There- 
fore my  heart  is  glad,  and  my  glory  rejoiceth;  my  flesh 
also  shall  rest  in  hope;  for  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul 
in  hell,  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thy  Holy  One  to  see  cor- 
ruption."* This  is  so  palpably  beside  the  question,  that 
it  is  needless  to  waste  words  in  exposing  its  inapplica- 
bility. The  declaration  is  made  respecting  a  Holy  Be- 
ing, whose  body  was  not  to  see  corruption:  but  the  bodies 
of  all  men  do  see  corruption:  consequently,  this  declara- 
tion does  not  relate  to  the  bodies  of  men  in  general. 
Probably,  then,  most  readers  will  prefer,  to'Mr  Beau- 
mont's application  of  the  words,  the  application  of  them 
by  the  Apostle  Peter:  ''  Men  and  brethren,  let  me  freely 
speak  unto  you  of  the  patriarch  David,  that  he  is  both 
dead  and  buried,  and  his  sepulchre  is  with  us  unto  this 
day.  Therefore,  being  a  prophet,  and  knowing  that 
God  had  sworn  with  an  oath  to  him,  that  of  the  fruit  of 
his  loins,  according  to  the  flesh,  he  would  raise  up  Christ 
to  sit  on  his  throne;  he  seeing  this  before,  spake  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  that  his  soul  teas  not  left  in  hell, 
neither  ms  flesh  did  see  corruption,  "t  Such  was  the  force 
of  this  reasoning,  that  three  thousand  souls  were  con- 
verted by  it:  but  the  argument  was  a  mere  sophism,  and 
they  who  yielded  to  it  were  not  converted  but  entrapped, 
if,  as  Mr  B.  would  pretend,  the  words  are  as  true  of 
David,  and  of  every  other  mortal,  as  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

We  are  then  presented  with  a  passage  from  Daniel; 
where  also,  though  it  is  not  so  obviously  remote  from 
the  subject,  a  little  reflection  may  convince  any  one,  that 
the  prophet  is  not  speaking  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
body.  He  says,  ''  And  many  of  them  that  sleep  in  the 
dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlasting  life, 
and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt."!  jVow 
most  people  believe,  that,  whether  the  body  rises  again 
or  not,  the  resurrection  extends  to  all  whose  bodies  are 
deposited  in  the  dust:  yet  this  passage  only  says,  that 
mmiT/  of  them  that  sleep  in  the  dust  shall  awake:  and 
this  difficulty  is  so  insurmountable,  that  the  more  candid 
of  the  advocates  for  the  resurrection  of  the  body  ac- 
knowledge that  this  passage  cannot  relate  to  the  sub- 
ject.    If  we  are  to  abide  strictly  by  the  letter  in  the 

^  Ps.  xvi.  9,  10.  t  Acts  it. 29,  30,  3*  $  Ch.  xii.  2. 


40  THE    RESURRECTION. 

words  sleeping  in  the  dust,  we  must  abide  by  the  let- 
ter in  the  word  many :  hence,  if  we  make  the  passage 
say,  that  many  of  the  bodies  which  lie  in  the  dust  shall 
be  raised,  we  make  it  say  as  positively,  that  some  of 
them  shall  not  be  raised:  and  thus  wc  involve  the  whole 
in  contradiction.  To  sleep,  and  to  sleep  in  the  dust, 
are  phrases  belonging  to  that  peculiar  style  of  language 
in  which  the  Scriptures  are  written,  and  which  is  framed 
from  the  correspondence,  analogy,  or  mutual  relation, 
established  by  the  Creator  between  natural  things  and 
spiritual;  which  is  such,  that  the  former  regularly  an- 
swer to  the  latter,  and  afford  exact  images  for  giving 
them  expression;  as  I  have  endeavored  to  explain  in  a 
distinct  work  on  that  subject.  In  this  style  of  language, 
to  sleep,  and  to  sleep  in  the  dust,  mean,  to  be  in  a  merely 
natural  and  sensual  state  of  life  ;  and  to  awake  from  thi& 
state  to  everlasting  life,  is  to  arise  to  a  state  af  truly 
spiritual  life,  accompanied  with  eternal  happiness;  while 
to  awake  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt,  is  to  pass 
indeed  into  a  spiritual  state,  but  such  a  one  as  belongs 
to  infernal  spirits,  accompanied  with  eternal  misery. 
Thus  to  sleep  in  the  dust,  and  to  awake  thence,  have 
no  reference  whatever  to  the  unconscious  dead  body,, 
but  to  the  man,  of  whom  the  dead  body  no  longer  forms 
any  part.  Hence  we  read,  both  of  the  wise  and  the 
foolish  virgins,  that  while  the  bridegroom  tarried,  they 
all  slumbered  and  slept ;  and  surely  no  one  ever  referred 
the  expressions,  in  this  instance,  to  the  body  in  the  grave. 
So  when  the  Apostle,  paraphrasing  the  prophet,  says, 
Aivake,  thou  that  deepest  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and 
Christ  shall  give  thee  light;*  he  certainly  does  not  al- 
lude to  the  sleep  of  the  grave,  or  address  the  dead  bodies 
there  but  calls  those  who  are  slumbering  in  a  merely 
natural  state,  and  who  are  spiritually  dead,  to  arise  to  a 
state  of  spiritual  light  and  life-  Thus  also,  when  Isaiah 
exclaims,  "  Shake  thyself  from  the  dust;  arise,  and  sit 
down,  O  Jerusalem ;^'t  none  understand  the  call  to  be 
addressed  to  the  dead  bodies  of  the  Jewish  people  moul- 
dering in  the  dust  of  the  grave.  Equally  unfounded  is 
the  application  of  the  prophecy  of  Daniel,  respecting 

*  Eph,  v.  11.  t  Isa.  lii.  2. 


THE    RESURRECTION.  41 

them  that  sleep  in  the  dust,  to  dead  carcases  in  the 
tomb.* 

We  now  pass  from  the  evidence  of  the  Old  Testament 
to  that  of  the  New:  and  though  we  shall  here  find  ex- 
plicit documents  on  the  subject  of  the  resurrection,  we 
shall  find  Mr  Locke's  assertion  to  be  true,  that  it,  like- 
wise, never  speaks  of  the  resurrection  of  the  same  [or 
the  material]  body. 

The  first  passage  hence  cited  by  Mr  B,  is  one  which 
has  been  much  relied  on  by  the  advocates  of  the  resur- 
rection of  the  body;  and  yet  it  is  attended  with  particulars 
in  itself  and  in  its  context,  which  make  it  utterly  irre- 
concilable with  that  doctrine.  "  Marvel  not  at  this:  for 
the  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the 
graves  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall  cx)me  forth;  they 
that  have  done  good  unto  the  resurrection  of  life,  and 
they  that  have  done  evil  unto  the  resurrection  of  dam- 
nation."! The  specific  reference  of  these  words  we 
shall  probably  see  when  we  come  to  consider  the  subject 
of  the  Last  Judgment;  but  that  they  do  not  relate  to 
any  resurrection  of  deceased  bodies,  to  take  place  many 
hundreds,  probably  many  thousands  of  years  after  the 
words  were  uttered,  is  evident  from  this  circumstance; 
that  the  great  event  referred  to,  whatever  may  be  its  true 
nature,  is  spoken  of  in  the  present  tense, — the  hour  25 
coming^ — indicating,  that  the  event  was  immediately 
about  to  take  place.  This  is  the  constant  import  of 
the  verb  to  come  when  used  in  the  present  tense,  both 
in  common  language  and  in  the  language  of  Scripture. 
If  the  Divine  Speaker  had  been  referring  to  an  event  so 
distant  as  experience  has  now  proved  that  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body,  if  ever  it  takes  place,  must  then  have 

*  I  have  explained  the  above  text  of  Daniel  according  to  its  spir- 
itual sense,  because  I  am  of  opinion  that  it  really  does  relate,  as  they 
who  apply  it  to  the  resurrection  of  the  body  suppose,  to  the  last 
judgment ;  and  it  is  only  in  its  spiritual  sense  that  it  refers  to  that 
event.  But  they  who  apply  it  to  the  resurrection  of  the  body  take 
it  in  its  merest  literal  sense.  That  it  has  also,  subordinately,  a  lit- 
eral or  natural  sense,  I  readily  admit :  but  in  that  sense  it  certainly 
relates  neither  to  the  resurrection  of  the  body  nor  to  the  last  judg- 
ment. Let  any  one  examine  the  context,  and  then  decide  whether, 
in  the  literal  sense,  it  can  possibly  refer  to  th&  last  judgment ;  and 
if  not,  neither  can  it,  even  in  that  sense,  refer  to  the  resurrection  of 
the  body. 

t  John  v.  28. 

4* 


42  THE    RESURRECTION. 

been,  he  would  not  have  said  '^  the  hour  is  coming,^^  but 
"  the  hour  irill  come  ;"  as  when  he  says,  in  Luke,  "  The 
days  ?^v7/ cowe  when  ye  shall  desire  to  see  one  of  the 
days  of  the  Son  of  man:" — when  he  says,  "the  hour 
Cometh,  or  is  coming,^''  he  certainly  means,  is  presently 
at  hand*'  But  if  the  mode  of  expression  be  not  itself 
deemed  sufficient  to  put  this  beyond  all  doubt,  all  doubt 
must  vanish  when  the  parallel  passage,  three  verses  pre- 
vious, is  consulted,  of  which  this  is  only  a  more  detailed 
repetition.  The  Lord  there  says,  "  Verily,  verily,  I 
say  unto  you,  the  hour  is  coming,  and  now  is,  when  the 
dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God:  and  they 
that  hear  shall  live. "t  Certainly,  "  the  dead,"  "  all  that 
are  in  the  graves," — cannot  mean,  literally,  corpses 
in  the  tomb;  for  all  these  have  never  yet  heard  the  voice 
of  the  Son  of  God,  lived,  and  come  forth;  although  the 
Lord  declares  that  the  hour  of  which  he*  was  speaking, 
when  this  should  take  place,  then  7cns.  Whatever  then 
may  be  intended  by  these  divine  declarations,  we  here 
have  conclusive  proof  that  they  do  not  announce  the 
resurrection  of  the  body.  The  language  of  the  Divine 
Speaker  must  be  figurative;  in  fact,  it  is  that  of  analogy 
or  correspondence.  This  is  further  evident  from  the 
next  verse  preceding  which  introduces  the  subject: 
"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  heareth  my 
word,  and  believeth  on  him  that  sent  me  hath  everlasting 
life,  and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  is  passed 
from  death  unto  life.''^'\  Here,  those  who  are  in  a  merely 
natural  state,  are  spoken  of  as  being  in  a  state  of  death, 
notwithstanding  they  are  living  by  natural  life  in  the 
world.  This  evinces  that  it  is  not  of  natural  death  that 
the  Divine  Teacher  is  speaking:  consequently,  "  the 
dead,"  mentioned  directly  afterwards,  are  not  they  who 
are  naturally  dead,  and  "  all  that  are  in  the  graves"  are 
not  the  dead  bodies  in  the  tomb.§ 

Mr  B.'s  next  quotation  is  the  Lord's  discourse  with 
Martha  (Joiui  xi.  23  to  26):  but  hov/  directly  this  con- 
tradicts his  opinion,  instead  of  confirming   it,   we  have 

*  See,  iy.-  instance,  Joan  iv.  21  and  23.      t  Ver.  25.      %  Ver.  24. 

§  But  it  not  only  is  evident,  upon  comparino-  the  context,  that  "  all 
that  are  in  the  graves,"  cannot  mean  all  dead  bodies,  but  it  is  shewn 
by  Mr  Locke,  in  the  place  cited  above,  that  the  words  themselves, 
could  they  be  separat^^  froju  the  context,  cannot,  without  the  great- 
est inconsistencies,  be  applied  to  such  a  resurrection. 


THE    RESURRECTIOX.  43 

already  seen.  It  is  true  that,  to  strain  it  to  his  purpose, 
he  would  translate  the  last  clause,  ^'  shall  not  die  for 
erer,"  instead  of  "  shall  never  die  ;"  but  every  one 
who  is  acquainted  with  the  idiom  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, knows  that  the  words  which,  literally  translated, 
are,  "  shall  not  die  for  ever,"  mean  precisely  the  same 
as  the  English  phrase,  shall  never  die.  By  this  phrase, 
therefore,  our  translators  have  honestly  rendered  them, 
notwithstanding  they  also  had  a  predilection  for  the  no- 
tion, that  everlasting  life  is  to  have  a  great  chasm  in  it.* 
Thus  by  this  divine  declaration,  the  change  in  the  state 
of  existence  made  by  putting  off  the  body  is  treated  as 
unworthy  of  any  regard;  it  is  represented  as  not  even 
making  a  break  in  the  course  of  existence:  and  we  may 
be  satisfied  that  the  Divine  Giver  of  everlasting  life 
does  not  mock  us  with  empty  words,  and  call  that  ever- 
lasting life,  or  living  for  ever,  which  is  presently  to  be 
discontinued,  and,  after  a  lapse  of  thousands  of  years, 
is  to  begin  again! 

Next  we  are  presented  with  these  words:  "And  as  they 
spake  unto  the  people,  the  priests,  and  the  captains  of 
the  people,  and  the  Sadducees,  came  upon  them,  being 
grieved  that  they  taught  the  people,  and  preached 
through  Jesus  the  resurrection  from  the  dead."!  No 
allusion  here,  we  see,  to  any  general  resurrection  of 
dead  bodies:  Indeed,  this  passage  only  refers  to  the  res- 
urrection of  Jesus  himself;  for  according  to  the  original 
it  is, — "  and  preached  in  Jesus  the  resurrection  from  the 
dead;" — that  is,  that  in  the  person  of  Jesus  a  resurrec- 
tion i^rom  the  dead  had  taken  place; — in  other  words, 
that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the  dead;  which  certainly  con- 
stituted the  main  burthen  of  the  first  preaching  of  the 
apostles. — Again:  "  Then  certain  philosophers  of  the 
Epicureans  and  of  the  Stoicks  encountered  him  (Paul.) 
And  some  said,  what  will  this  babbler  say?  other  some, 
He  seemeth  to  be  a  setter  forth  of  strange  gods:  because 
he  preached  to  them  Jesus  and  the  resurrection. "J  Still 

*  Dr  Doddridge  justly  observes,  in  his  note  upon  this  passage, 
«  To  render  the  words, — shall  not  die  forever,  or  eternally,  is  both 
obscuring  and  enervating  their  sense,  and  (as  I  have  elsewhere  shewn 
notes  on  John  iv.  14,  and  John  viii.  51,  52)  is  grounded  on  a  criti- 
cism v/hich  cannot  agree  with  the  use  of  the  phrase  in  parallel  pas- 
sages." 

t  Acts  iv.  1,2.  jCh.xvii.  18. 


44  THE    RESURRECTION. 

nothing  about  the  resurrection  of  the  body:  indeed, 
this  text  also  seems  only  to  refer  to  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus. — "  And  have  hope  towards  God,  wliich  they 
themselves  also  allow,  that  there  shall  be  a  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  unjust. — Except  it  be 
for  this  one  voice,  that  I  (Paul)  cried  standing  among 
them,  touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  I  am  called 
in  question  among  you  this  day."*  Still  not  a  word 
about  dead  bodies. — "  Women  received  their  dead  rai- 
sed to  life  again:  and  others  were  tortured,  not  accept- 
ing deliverance;  that  they  might  obtain  a  better  resur- 
rection."! Here  the  dead  whom  the  women  received 
again  certainly  were  restored  in  their  bodies;  they  not 
only  rose  again  in  their  bodies,  but,  as  the  necessary 
consequence  of  such  a  resurrection,  they  also  died  again 
in  their  bodies:  but  they  hoped  for  a  better  resurrection, 
that  is,  better  than  the  resurrection  oj  the  body. — "  Blessed 
be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which, 
according  to  his  abundant  mercy  hath  begotten  us  again 
unto  a  lively  hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 
from  the  dead."  Here,  again,  no  resurrection  is  spoken 
of,  but  that  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"  But  the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again  till  the 
thousand  vears  were  finished:  this  is  the  first  resurrec- 
tion. Blessed  and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  the  first 
resurrection."!  This  passage  refers  to  things  that  were 
to  take  place  in  the  spiritual  world,  not  in  the  natural, 
at  the  time  of  the  last  judgment,  wherefore  I  shall  con- 
sider it  when  I  come  to  treat  of  that  subject;  at  present 
I  will  only  quote  a  little  more  of  it,  which  our  refuter 
has  judiciously  suppressed,  because,  if  suffered  to  appear 
it  would  take  the  whole  passage  completely  out  of  his 
list  of  proofs,  and  add  it  to  ours.  The  preceding  verse 
says:  "I  saw  the  souls''''  (mind  this — the  souls,  not  the 
bodies; — "  I  saw  the  soids)  of  them  that  were  beheaded 
for  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  for  the  word  of  God,  and 
which  had  not  worshipped  the  beast,  neither  his  image, 
neither  had  received  his  mark  upon  their  foreheads  or 
in  their  hands;  and  thcij  (not  the  bodies,  mind,  but  they,  the 
pronoun  referring  to  the  soids  before  mentioned  as  its 
antecedent,)  lived  and  reigned  with  Christ  a  thousand 
years.     But  the  rest  of  the  dead,^^  &c.     Here  then  we 

^  Ch.  xxiv.  15,  21.  t  Heb.  xi.  35.  X  Rev.  xx.  5,  6. 


THE    RfiSURRECTION-.  45 

fiDcl  that  these  souls  are  called  the  dead,  as  having  passed 
by  death  out  of  the  natural  word;  as  well  as  for  another 
reason  that  will  be  mentioned  hereafter:  and  as,  while 
souls  are  mentioned,  not  a  syllable  is  said  of  any  bodies, 
or  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  it  surely  is  a  palpable 
violation  of  the  sacred  text  to  apply  this  part  of  it  to 
confirm  such  a  notion. 

The  last  passage  which  Mr  B.  adduces  against  us  is 
this.  "  For  the  Lord  himself  shall  descend  from  heaven 
with  a  shout,  -with  the  voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with 
the  trump  of  God:  and  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first." 
I  wonder  he  did  not  add  the  next  verse,  which  appears 
still  stronger:  for  the  Apostle  goes  on  to  say:  ''  Then  we 
which  are  alive,  and  remain,  shall  be  caught  up  together 
with  them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air:"* 
But  I  suppose  the  reason  why  Mr  B.  declined  to  add  this 
to  his  quotation,  w^as,  because  the  language  is  so  evi- 
dently figurative,  that  scarcely  any  can  suppose  that  it  is 
meant  to  be  literally  understood:  and  because,  also,  the 
Apostle  here  undeniably  speaks  according  to  certain  mis- 
taken notions,  which  prevailed  in  the  first  ages.  The 
fact  is,  that  this  text  does  not  so  properly  belong  to  the 
subject  of  the  Resurrection,  as  to  that  of  the  Second 
Coming  of  the  Lord;  and  as,  according  to  what  has 
been  shewn  above,  the  true  nature  of  the  Second  Coming 
of  the  Lord  was  not  at  that  time  plainly  revealed,  there- 
fore the  Apostles  never  speak  of  it  but  in  that  prophetical 
style  in  which  it  had  been  predicted  by  the  Lord  himself, 
and  which  cannot  be  understood  till  spiritually  decipher- 
ed.t  Thus  we  have  seen,  that  all  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians, and  the  Apostles  themselves,  believed  that  it  was 
to  take  place  in  that  first  age;  and  the  language  which 
Paul  here  twice  uses, — ''  ice  that  are  alive  and  remain," 
— evinces,  that  he,  at  the  time  of  his  so  writing,  enter- 
tained the  expectation  of  living  to  see  it.  This,  experi- 
ence has  proved,  v/as  a  mistaken  opinion  altogether; 
yet  wdth  a  reference  to  this  mistaken  opinion,  assumed 
as  true,  all  the  Apostle's  remarks  are  here  framed.     The 

*  1  Thes.  iv.  16,  17. 

t  See  above,  p.  9  and  12,  and  the  note,  p.  12  and  13;  and  I 
beg  the  reader  to  bear  in  mind  what  was  there  advanced,  as  the  sub' 
ject  is  of  great  importance,  and  what  is  here  stated  was  there,  I  trust 
I  may  say.  incontrovertibly  proved." 


46  THE    RESURRECTION. 

Thessalonian  Christians  expected  to  live  to  witness  the 
Lord's  second  coming,  and  then  to  be  admitted  into  a 
kingdom  of  superlative  glory,  in  a  new  heaven  and  earth 
to  be  created  tor  the  purpose  after  the  destruction  of  the 
former:  and  they  grieved  for  their  deceased  friends, 
fearing  that  none  could  enjoy  the  happiness  of  the  Lord's 
new  kingdom  but  they  who  lived  to  behold  its  establish- 
ment. Assuming  then  this  expectation  of  the  Lord's 
appearing,  in  this  manner,  and  in  the  life-time  of  that 
generation,  to  be  true,  the  Apostle  applies  himself  to 
remove  their  gloomy  apprehensions  respecting  their 
departed  friends.  He  opens  the  subject  with  saying, 
^'JBut  I  would  not  have  ye  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  con- 
cerning them  which  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not,  even 
as  others  which  have  no  hope :  for  if  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  that  sleep 
in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him,"*  Then  he  proceeds, 
*'  For  this  we  say  unto  you  by  the  word  of  the  Lord," 
[meaning,  that  he  here  repeats  what  the  Lord  himself 
had  declared]  ^'  that  we  which  are  alive  and  remain 
unto  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  shall  not  prevent  [be  be- 
forehand with,  or  have  any  advantage  over]  them  which 
are  asleep. "f  The  two  verses  cited  above  next  follow; 
and  thej^  are  purely  a  paraphrase  of  the  Lord's  own 
statement  respecting  his  second  coming,  with  the  intro- 
duction of  a  clause  respecting  those  who  should  be  de- 
ceased, in  regard  to  whom  the  Thessalonians  were  un- 
easy. The  Lord  had  said,  "  They  shall  see  the  Son  of 
man  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and 
great  glory;  and  he  shall  send  his  angels  with  a  great 
sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather  together  his 
elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end  of  heaven  to  the 
other. "J  The  Apostle  says,  "  For  the  Lord  himself 
shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice 
of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God:  and  the 
dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first"  [or  "  shall  rise  before," 
or  "  previously  ;"  as  is  the  sense  of  the  word  7r/)&;rov,  in 
Matt.  v.  24,'ch.  xii.  29,  Mark  ix.  11,  12,  John  xv.  18, 
ch.  xix.  39,  2  Thes.  ii.  3.  1  Tim.  iii.  10,  Sec.]:  ''  then  we 
which  are  alive  and  remain  shall  be  caught  up  together 
with  them  in  the  clouds,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air." 
What  can  with  certainty  be  gathered  from  this  language, 

*  Ver.  18,  14.  t  Ver.  15.  J  Matt.  xxiv.  30,  31. 


THE    RESURRECTION.  47 

but  that,  as  has  been  shewn  before,  neither  the  manner 
nor  the  time  of  the  Lord's  second  coming  were  then  re- 
vealed? Hence,  with  respect  to  the  manner  of  it,  we 
find  the  Apostle  repeating,  without  explanation,  the  sym- 
bolic language  in  which  the  Lord  had  foretold  it:  and 
with  respect  to  the  time  of  it,  we  find  him  countenancing 
a  most  palpable  error.  Can  any  doctrine,  then,  with 
safety  be  drawn  from  his  statement,  beyond  this;  that 
they  who  ''  sleep  in  Jesus,"  actually  are  "  with  him," — 
that  is,  that  they  are  awake  or  alive  towards  him,  though 
they  are  asleep  towards  us;  or  "  that  the  dead  in  Christ 
were  to  rise"  before  his  second  cominc^  even  thouorh  this 
was  then  daily  expected, — in  other  words,  that  they  rise 
in  and  with  Christ  as  soon  as  they  die  here  ?  And  even 
if  we  understand  as  literally  as  we  can  the  Apostle's 
words,  respecting  the  dead  in  Christ  rising  first  and  ice 
(which  must  now  be  changed  into  theij)  which  are  alive 
and  remain  being  caught  up  into  the  air,  still  it  will  not 
follow  that  dead  material  bodies  are  thus  to  rise,  or  that 
living  material  bodies  are  to  be  thus  transported;  for, 
v/hen  speaking  in  a  similar  manner  in  another  place,  to 
be  considered  presently,  he  says,  that  "  we  shall  be 
changed," — shall  change  our  material  bodies  for  spirit- 
ual ones, — "  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye;" 
evidently  teaching  that,  happen  how  it  may,  we  are  to  be 
dispossessed  of  that  "  flesh  and  blood,"  which  he  affirms 
in  the  same  place  "  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God," 
and  v/hich  are  so  little  suited  for  flying  in  the  air. 

This  brings  me  to  the  famous  fifteenth  chapter  of  the 
first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  We  think  tliat  this  por- 
tion of  the  Apostolic  writings  contains  most  decided 
statements  in  support  of  our  views  of  the  subject;  and 
Mr  Beaumont  directs  his  reader  to  peruse  the  whole 
chapter  from  the  12th  verse,  saying,  that  "if,  after  so 
doing,  he  is  not  convinced  of  the  erroneous  doctrine  of 
Swedenborg  respecting  the  resurrection,  then  neither 
would  he  be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the 
dead."*  This  certainly  is  perfectly  true:  for  we  are 
quite  sure  that  if  any  one  were  to  come  from  the  other 
life  to  inform  us  of  the  nature  of  that  much  mistaken 
country,  his  testimony  would  be  in  agreement  with  the 
doctrine  of  Swedenborg  and  of  Paul,  that  departed  spirits 

*  Anti-Swedenborg,  p.  48. 

M 


48  THE    RESURRECTION. 

there  exist  as  perfect  men,   and  would  shudder   at  the 
thought  of  being  again  buried  in  a  covering  of  clay. 

First  let  us  look  at  the  general  scope  of  the  Apostle's 
argument, — at  the  dcd^n  with  which  the  whole  of  it  was 
composed:  for  this  will  greatly  assist  us  rightly  to  un- 
derstand the  particular  expressions.  Was  it  written  to 
prove  the  doctrine  of  a  resurrection,  or  of  a  future  state, 
in  general;  or  to  prove  the  resurrection  of  the  material 
body .'' 

"  Now  if  Christ  be  preached,   that    he  rose  from  the 
dead,"  says  the  Apostle  when  he  commences  the  sub- 
ject, "  how  say  some  among  you  that  there  is  no  resur- 
rection of  the  dead?"*     Does  this  mean,  no  resurrection 
of  dead  bodies;  or,  no  rising  in  eternal  life  of  those  who 
have  left  this  world    by  death.''      A  few  verses  below 
we  find  an  answer  to  this  inquiry.     The  Apostle  says, 
"  If  the  dead  rise  not,  then  is  not  Christ  raised:  and  if 
Christ  be  not  raised,  your  faith  is  vain;  ye  are  yet  in 
your  sins.     Then  they  also  which  are  fallen  asleep   in 
Christ  are  perished.     If  in  this  life   only  we  have  hope, 
we  are  of  all  men  most  miserable."!     Here  the  plain 
scope  of  the  Apostle's  argument  is  explicitly  declared. 
He  is  reasoning  against  those  who  confined  their  hopes 
of  happiness  to    tliis   life  only.     He  is  disproving  the 
monstrous  error  of  supposing  that  the  Christian's  hope 
terminates  here:  and  surely  this  awful  mistake  is  guard- 
ed against   quite  as  effectually  by   the   doctrine  which 
teaches  that  we  shall  rise  again,  and  appear  before   our 
Judge,  immediately  after  death,  in  bodies  adapted  for 
the  liillest  sense  either  of  happiness  or  of  misery,  as   by 
the  doctrine  v/hich  teaches  that  \vg  are  not  to  be  judged 
at  all,  nor  even  to  have  any  distinct   consciousness  of 
existence,  till  the  end  of  the  world.     Evident  then  it  is, 
that  the  Apostle  is  writing  against    those   who  deny  a 
resurrection  altogether:  not   against  those  who  do  not 
expect  a  resurrection   of  the    body.     Accordingly,  he 
says  presently,  "  What  shall  they  do  which  are  baptized, 
for  the  dead,  if  the  dead  rise  not  at  allV'^^     IVovv^  what- 
ever this  baptizing  for  the  dead  might  be,  the  Apostle 
clearly  affirms  that  the  use  of  it  would  be  frustrated,  not 
if  the  dead  bodij  never  vises,  but  if  the  dead  rise  not  at  all. 
So  he  proceeds,  still  arguing  against  the  idea,  not  that 

*  Ver.  12.  t  Ver.  16  to  19.  t  Ver.  29. 


THE    RESURRECTION.  49 

there  is  no  resurrection  of  the  body,  but  that  there  is 
no  future  life,  '*  And  why  stand  we  in  jeopardy  every 
hour?  I  protest  by  the  rejoicing  which  I  have  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  L(;rd,  I  die  daily"  [meaning,  that  he  was 
constantly  exposing  himself  to  the  danger  of  dying;  and 
was  also  mortifying  in  himself  the  life  of  the  merely  na- 
tural man.]  ''  If  after  the  manner  of  men  I  have  fought 
with  beasts  at  Ephesus,  what  advantageth  it  me  if  the 
dead  rise  not?  Let  us  eat  and  drink  for  tomorrow  we 
die."*  Here  the  Apostle  puts  us  still  more  clearly  in 
possession  of  the  whole  scope  of  his  argument.  No- 
thing can  be  plainer  than  that  he  is  solely  contending 
for  a  future  life, — a  state  of  retribution, — against  the  mon- 
strous grossness  of  those  who  imagined  that  there  is  no 
resurrection  whatever,  and  that  when  we  die  here  we 
are  extinct  for  ever.  The  resurrection  of  the  body, 
then,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  main  design  of  his  ar- 
gument. 

The  Apostle  having  thus  settled  so  conclusively  the 
main  question,  proceeds  to  ansvver  those  who  objected 
to  the  doctrine  of  man's  immortality,  in  consequence  of 
observing,  that  the  natural  body  was  cast  at  death  into 
the  ground,  and  was  there  decomposed,  without  any- 
thing of  the  man  anywhere  remaining  visible. 

"  But  some  will  say,"  he  observes,  ''  How  are  the 
dead  raised  up?  and  with  what  body  do  they  come? 
Thou  fool,"  he  replies,  "  that  which  thou  sowest"  (allud- 
ing to  the  operations  of  the  husbandman)  "is  not  quick- 
ened except  it  die.  And  that  which  thou  sowest,  thou 
sowest  not  that  body  which  shall  he,  but  bare  grain,  it 
may  chance  of  wheat  or  some  other  grain.  But  God 
givetii  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased  him,  and  to  every 
seed  his  own  body."|  Here  we  have  the  most  unequi- 
vocal assertion,  that  man  does  not  rise  again  with  the 
same  body  as  is  laid  in  the  grave.  And  to  show  that 
man  may  have  a  different  body  suited  to  the  different 
state  on  which  he  enters  after  death,  he  proceeds  to  illus- 
trate it  by  similitudes  from  various  natural  objects. 
"  All  fle-^h,"  says  he,  "  is  not  the  same  flesh:  there  is  one 
kind  of  flesh  of  men,  another  of  beasts,  another  of  fish- 
es, and  another  of  birds.  There  are  also  celestial  bo- 
dies, and  bodies  terrestrial:  but  the  glory"  (or  "  form," 

*  Ver.  30,  31,32.  t  Ver.  35  to  38. 

5  1L 


50  THE    RESURRECTION. 

or  '^  nature,"  as  the  original   word   here  signifies)  "  of 
Ihr  celestial  is  one,  and  the  glory  of  the  terrestrial  is 
another.      There  is  one   glory"  (Ibim,   or   nature)  "  of 
the  sun,  another  glory  of  the  moon,  and  another  of  the 
stars;  for  one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory."* 
Was  it    possible    to  prepare  the    rnit^d  more    naturally 
for  the   admission   of  the  idea,  that  though   th(^  natural 
body    rises   no  more,    man  is  not  therefore   left  desti- 
tute of  a  body,  but  has  a  better  in  its  place?     To  what 
purpose  could   this  enumeration   of  different  species  of 
bodies  serve,  but  to  answer  the  objections  of  those  who 
concluded,  that  because  the  body  which  was  laid  in  the 
grave  remains  there,  therefore  there  is  no  resurrection 
of  the  man?     He    proceeds:  "  So  also  is  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead.     It  is  sown  in  corruption,   it  is  raised 
in  incorruption:  It  is  sown   in  dishonor;  it  is   raised  in 
glory:  It  is  sown  in  weakness:  it  is  raised  in  power."! 
JVow  he  comes  to  the   full,  clear,  New  Jerusalem  doc- 
trine :   ^^  It  is   soicn  a  natural  body;  it  is  raised  a  spirit- 
ual 6ocZt/;"  or,   as  the  words  might  more  exactly,  and 
without  any  ambiguity,  be  translated,  '^  A  natural  body 
is    sown  ;   a  spiritual  body  is  raised.''^   To    confirm  this 
grand  idea,  he  solemnly  repeats   it  as  a  general  truth: 
"  There    is  a    natural    body,    and  there   is  a  spiritual 
body  :"J — a  most  certain  fact  this,  on  which  the  whole 
doctrine   of  the  New  Jerusalem  respecting  the  life  af- 
ter death  rests!  *'  There  is  a  natural  body,  and  there  w  a 
spiritual  body P^  and  the  latter  is  not  less  real,   and  less 
truly  substantial  than  the  former.     In  the  next  verse  he 
illu^trates  this   great   truth   by  the   example   of  Adam, 
though  the  reference  is  quite  lost  in   our  translation;  in 
which  it  is  given,  "  And  so  it  is  written.  The  first  man 
Adam  was  made  a  living  soul;  the  last  Adam  was  made 
a  quickening  spirit."^     How  does  this  illustrate  the  case 
of  the  natural  and   spiritual   body?  Because   the   word 
here  used  for  soul  {-^vxr^  is  that  always   applied  by  the 
Apostle  to  signify  the  natural  or  animal  soul;  or  the  life  of 
the   natural  or  animal  man:  it  is   the  substantive  from 
which  the  adjective  always  translated  natural  {'^vx,^^^) 
in  the  New  I'estament,  is  formed:  thus,  to  introduce  the 
word  natural,   answering  to  what  had  gone  before,  we 
might  read  it,  "  the  first  Adam  was  made  a  living  7iatu- 

*  Ver.  39, 40,  41.        t  Ver.  42,  43.         t  Ver.  44.        §  Ver.  45. 


THE    RESURRECTION.  61 

ral  principle,  and  the  last  Adam  was  made  a  quickening 
spiritual  principle;"  in  other  words,"  The  first  Adam 
was  endued  with  natural  lifcj  and  the  last  Adam  is  the 
communicator  of  spiritual  life:"  with  which  idea  in  our 
minds,  we  see  the  propriety  of  the  verse  which  follows: 
"  Howbeit,  that  was  not  first  which  is  spiritual,  but  that 
which  is  natural,  and  afterwards  that  which  is  spirit- 
ual."* Thus  the  Apostle  means  to  state  this  most  accu- 
rately discriminated  and  beautiful  truth;  That  there  is 
just  such  a  diflfercnce  between  our  natural  and  our  spirit- 
ual body,  as  there  is  between  the  nature  which  we  re- 
ceive by  birth  from  Adam,  and  that  which  we  receive 
by  regeneration  from  the  Lord.  This  he  further  illus- 
trates by  adding,  "  The  first  man  is  of  the  earth,  earthy  : 
the  second  man  is  the  Lord  from  heaven.  As  is  the 
earthy  such  are  they  also  that  are  earthy:  and  as  is  the 
heavenly,  such  are  they  also  that  are  heavenly.  And 
as  we  have  borne  the  image  of  the  earthy,  we  shall  also 
bear  the  image  of  the  heavenly."!  Here  he  shows, 
that,  with  the  good,  of  whom  alone  he  is  speaking,  the 
resurrection-body  is  the  proper  form  and  image  of  the 
regenerate  mind.  Then  he  makes  this  general  state- 
ment: "  Now  this  I  say  brethren,  ihatfltsh  and  blood 
cannot  inherit  thekin<^dom  of  Gjd;  neither  doth  conniption 
inherit  incorruption.'''''i  What  can  be  clearer?  How  is 
this  to  be  evaded.^  This  is  precisely  what  we  believe. 
The  Apostle  is  arguing  as  strongly  as  possible  against 
the  notion  of  the  resurrection  of  the  natural  body,  as 
being  of  such  substance  as  cannot  enter  heaven;  and  in 
proof  that  such  resurrection  is  unnecessary  to  our  future 
existence,  he  demonstrates  that  there  is  a  spiritual  body, 
independent  of  the  former,  and  which  emerges  out  of 
the  shell  of  clay  when  this  is  laid  aside  by  death. 

The  Apostle  now  proceeds  to  sp«'ak  of  the  manner  and 
time  of  our  exchanging  our  natural  body  for  the  spirit- 
ual one:  And  though  what  he  here  says  may  be  under- 
stood in  reference  to  a  distant  period,  (though  certainly 
that  distant  period,  in  the  idea  of  the  Apostle,  was  not 
to  be  protracted  beyond  the  probable  duration  of  his  own 
life,)  it  also  may  be  understood  as  taking  place  imme- 
diately: and  I  shall  shew  presently  that  it  must  be  so  un- 
derstood, to  make  the  Apostle  consistent  with  himself, 

*  Ver.  46.  t  Ver.  47,  48,  49.  |  Ver.  50. 


52  THE    RESURRECTIOxV. 

He  says,  "  Behold,  I  shew  you  a  mystery :  we  shall  not 
all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  moment,  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump:  for  the  trump- 
el  shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible; 
and  we  shall  be  changed."*  It  is  generally  supposed 
that  the  Apostle  here  refers  to  a  coming  of  the  Lord  to 
put  an  end  to  the  world;  and  that  when  he  says  "  we 
shall  not  all  sleep,"  he  means  to  say,  that  all  will  not 
previously  die,  but  some  will  be  then  alive;  wherefore 
he  also  says  "  the  dead  shall  be  raised,"  "  and  ice," 
meaning  such  as  shall  be  remaining  alive,"  shall  be 
changed."  It  is  not  impossible  that  he  might  have  such 
ideas,  because  we  have  seen  that  he  had  such  when  he 
wrote  the  passage  above  noticed  to  the  Thessalonians. 
If  so,  this  passage  belongs  to  the  same  class  as  that:  it 
evinces,  with  that,  that  the  Lord  did  not  see  fit  that  the 
true  nature  and  time  of  his  second  coming  should  then 
be  openly  revealed;  whence  even  the  Apostles  were 
permitted  to  entertain,  upon  ihis  one  subject,  obscure,  and, 
in  some  respects,  erroneous  ideas, — to  expect  it  to  take 
place,  as  figuratively  described,  in  the  life-time  of  that 
generation,  and  probably  in  their  own;  whence  Paul, 
including  himself,  here  says,  "  We  shall  not  all  sleep," 
and  "  we  shall  be  changed."  However,  whether  he 
now  had  these  ideas  in  his  mind  or  not,  what  he  has  here 
delivered  may  certainly  be  understood  as  a  figurative 
statement  of  the  true  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  as  de- 
livered by  himself  elsewhere.  "  We  shall  not  all  sleep," 
must  then  mean,  that  we  shall  not  sleep  as  to  the  tohoU 
of  us.  The  trumpet  must  be  mentioned  as  a  figure  to 
denote  the  great  change  made  by  death  in  the  state  of 
our  perceptions,  and  our  awaking  to  a  consciousness  of 
the  objects  of  the  eternal  world:  and  that  this  takes 
place  with  every  one  as  soon  as  the  interior  parts  of  his 
bodily  frame  are  dead,  which  is  not  till  some  time  after 
all  perceptible  signs  of  life  have  ceased,  is  well  describ- 
ed when  it  is  said,  that  the  change  shall  be  effected 
"  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,"  without  any 
interval  of  total  extinction  whatever.  When  the  Apostle 
adds,  "  For  this  corruptible  must  put  on  incorruption, 
and  this  mortal  must  put  on  immortality,"!  he  cannot 
mean  to  say  this  of  the  natural  body,  "  the  flesh  and 

*  Ver.  51,  52.  t  Ver.  53. 


THE    RESURRECTION.  53 

blood;"  for  this  he  had  before  declared  "  cannot  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God," — and  that  "  corruption  doth  not 
inherit  incorruption,"  or  cannot  be  made  incorruptible. 
He  here  then,  speaking  in  a  strong,  animated  style,  must 
mean,  that  this  corruptible  state  and  body  must  be  ex- 
changed for  the  incorruptible,  this  nortal  for  immortal: 
and  so  he  comes  to  the  sublime  conclusion,  "  So  when 
this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on  incorruption,  and  this 
mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality,  then  shall  be 
brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written,  Death  is  swal- 
lowed up  in  victory." 

From  this  review,  then,  I  think  it  is  plain,  that  al- 
though a  few  expressions  in  this  celebrated  chapter  niay 
be  interpreted  in  their  own  favor  by  those  who  look  for  a 
general  resurrection  at  some  distant  period,  and  who 
think  that  our  present  bodies,  though  somehow  miracu- 
lously changed,  are  then  to  be  resumed,  the  v/ords  by  no 
means  require  such  an  interpretation,  and  cannot  well 
bear  it  if  the  whole  of  the  context  be  considered  with 
them.  Besides  it  is  plain  that  the  Apostle  does  not 
allow  of  an  intermediate  reservation  of  the  soul  some- 
where by  itself  till  the  body  is  raised  and  joined  again 
to  it;  a  doctrine  which  has  been  invented  to  make  the 
passages  which  openly  speak  of  the  immediate  resurrec- 
tion of  the  soul  seem  to  be  combinable  with  the  doctrine 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  body:  he  speaks  of  the  raising 
of  the  spiritual  body  as  the  only  resurrection,  and  never 
bints  at  the  soul  as  existing  separately  from  the  spirit- 
ual body.  It  is  necessary  then  to  understand  the  whole 
of  an  immediate  resurrection  upon  the  death  of  the  body.* 

*  Quite  evident  it  is,  that,  whatever  became  of  Elijah's  material 
body  it  was  not  carried  up  into  heaven:  for  quite  evident  it  is, 
though  the  circumstance  is  generally  overlooked,  that  the  transla- 
tion of  Elijah  was  not  seen  by  Elisha  with  the  eyes  of  his  body,  but 
with  those  of  his  spirit:  on  which  mode  of  vision,  customary  with 
the  prophets,  we  shall  have  to  offer  some  remaiksin  a  subsequent 
Section.  Elisha  liad  asked,  that  a  double  portion  of  his  mastei's  spir- 
it might  be  upon  him  ;  to  which  Elijah  answered,  "Thou  hast  ask- 
ed a  hard  thing  :  nevertheless,  j/f/^r/u  see  7?ic  when  I  am  taken  fiom 
thee,  it  shall  be  so  unto  thee  ;  but  if  not,  it  shall  not  be  so."  (2  Ks.  ii. 
10.)  Elijah  knew  that  the  miraculous  event  about  to  take  place 
would  be  imperceptible  to  any  man  in  his  natural  state,  and  could 
not  be  beheld  by  Elisha,  unless,  by  special  divine  favor,  the  sight  of 
his  spirit  were  opened  to  behold  it;  the  granting  then  to  Elisha  of  the 
fa  vor  of  the  opening  of  his   spiritual  sight,  was  to   be  to   him   the 

5* 


54  THE    RESURRECTION". 

And  we  must  so  understand  it,  unless  we  would  plac0 
the  Apostle  in  contradiction  to  himself;  since  it  is  plain, 

earnest  of  the  granting  to  him  likewise  of  the  other  favor  which  he 
had  requested.  This  tlierefore  was  done  and  is  distinctly  recorded. 
"  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  they  went  on,  and  talked,  that,  behold,  there 
appeared  a  chariot  of  tire  and  horses  of  lire,  and  parted  them  both 
asunder;  and  Elijah  went  up  by  a  vvhirlwind  into  heaven."  (Ver.  11.) 
Certain  it  is  that  this  chariot  and  horses  of  fire  did  not  belong  to  the 
natural  world,  but  that  they  were  a  spiritual  appearance,  and,  conse- 
quently, not  visible  to  the  sight  of  a  man,  unless  he  were  put  into  a 
spiritual  state  proper  for  beholding  it.  That  Elisha  then  was  put  into 
such  a  state,  is  intimated  by  its  being  immediately  added,  "  And  Elisha 
sawit ;" — that  is,  saw  the  whole  transaction, — both  the  fiery  cha- 
riot and  horses  and  the  transit  of  Elijah  ; — "  and  he  cried.  My  fath- 
er, my  father,  the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof." 
This  vision  having  been  granted  him,  his  return  into  a  natural  state, 
in  which  objects  belonging  to  the  spiritual  world  vanished  from  his 
sight,  is  also  marked,  by  its  being  further  added,  "  And  he  saw  him 
nomoiey  (Ver.  12.)  As  then  it  is  evident  that  Elisha  beheld  the 
whole  transaction,  not  with  the  eyes  of  his  body  but  with  the  eyes  of 
his  spirit,  it  follows,  that  it  was  the  spirit  only  of  Elijah,  and  not  his 
body,  which  in  that  state  he  saw.  Had  he  beheld  the  ascension  of 
Elijah  with  his  natural  sight,  as  we  behold  an  aeronaut  ascend  in  a 
balloon,  there  could  have  been  no  room  for  the  intimatiou,_^that  it 
was  by  special  divine  favor  that  he  was  enabled  to  see  the  vision  : 
but  as  there  is  such  an  intimation ;  as,  likewise,  it  is  certain  that  the 
chariot  and  horses  of  lire,  could  not,  like  a  balloon,  be  beheld  with 
the  natural  sight ;  it  becomes  certain  that  the  person  who  was  thus 
seen  to  ascend  was  a  spiritual,  not  a  material  aeronaut, — was  not  the 
body  of  Elijah,  but  his  spirit. 

But  is  it  asked,  What  then  became  of  his  body?  Suppose  we  ask  in 
return,  If  he  soared  through  the  air  to  heaven,  considered,  as  this 
supposition  requires,  as  a  place  beyond  the  region  of  the  stars,  what 
became  of  the  life  of  his  body?  We  know,  from  the  experience  of 
those  who  have  climbed  lofty  mountains  or  ascended  in  balloons,  that 
the  air  becomes  so  rare  at  the  height  of  but  a  very  few  miles  from 
the  earth's  surface  as  to  make  respiration  difficult,  and  that,  on  con- 
tinuing to  asrend,  an  animated  body  would  soon  come  into  the  state 
of  an  animal  in  an  exhausted  receiver,  and  must  inevitably  expire ; 
and  we  know  also,  that  the  temperature  at  the  same  time  becomes  so 
cold,  that  the  fluids  of  the  body  would  speedily  be  arrested,  and  the 
animal  frame  become  a  solid  mass  of  ice.  If  then  it  is  not  imme- 
diately evident  what  became  of  Elijah's  body,  it  is  sufficiently  evi- 
dent what  became  of  the  life  of  it;  and  if  we  still  suppose  that  it 
went  to  heaven  by  this  route,  we  must  suppKJse  that  it  accom- 
plished the  voyage,  not  as  an  animated  body,  but  as  a  corpse.  But 
does  not  the  Sacred  Record  itself  indicate  what  became  of  the  body, 
when  it  informs  us,  that  the  immediate  agent  in  Elijah's  removal 
was  a  whirlwind,  or,  according  to  the  n»ore  extensive  signification  cf 
the  original  expression,  a  violent  storm  ?  We  read  in  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  14, 
15;  "  As  the  fire  burneth  the  wood  and  as  the  flame  setteth  the 
mountains  on  fire  ;  so  persecute  them  with  thy  tempast,  and  make 
them  afraid  with  thy  storm;''  where  the  word  in  the  origi.al  for 


THE   RESURRECTlOPf.  55 

from  other  passages,  that  he  expected  such  an  imme- 
diate resurrection,  and  that  in  a  real  but  spiritual  body, 
as  soon  as  he  should  be  removed  f.om  the  world  by- 
death.  This,  therefore,  we  will  now  proceed  to  shew. 
Wc  find  him  speaking  to  the  Philippians  in  these  de- 
cided terms,  *'  For  me,  to  live  is  Christ,  and  to  die  is 
gain."*  How  could  death  be  gain  to  him,  if  he  expect- 
ed to  slumber  in  the  grave  for  no  one  knows  how  many 
ages?  for  we  have  just  seen  that  he  had  no  idea  of  the 
existence  of  the  soul  separate  from  its  spiritual  and  only 
resuscitative  body.  He  adds,  "  For  I  am  in  a  strait 
between  two;  having  a  desire  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ, 
which  is  far  better. "f  Here  it  is  plain  enough  that  he 
expected  an  immediate  resurrection,  and  to  be  then  in 
the  enjoyment  of  eternal  happiness;  from  which  he  cer- 
tainly would  never  wish  to  come  to  dispute  the  possession 

storm  is  the  same  as  is  here  rendered  a  whirlwind;  and  where  an 
action  is  ascribed  to  it  like  that  of  fire  and  flame;  Are  we  not  then 
to  infer,  that  it  includes  the  action  of  lightning  as  well  as  of  wind, — 
the  extreme  of  commotion  or  agitation  (which  is  the  radical  idea  of 
the  word)  in  all  the  elements, — all,  in  short,  to  which  we  usually  ap- 
ply the  word  storm?  Place  then  any  man  in  the  very  centre  of  such 
a  commotion  of  the  elements  as  we  sometimes  behold;  thus  expose 
him  to  the  action  of  the  electric  or  galvanic  fluid  in  its  utmost  ener- 
gy ; — and  any  philosopher  will  inform  us,  not  only  that  his  body 
would  be  instantly  deprived  of  its  life,  or  that  it  would  be  torn  to 
atoms, — for  this  would  be  the  result  of  a  comparatively  slight  action 
of  that  mighty  solvent, — but  that  it  would  be  completely  decomposed 
and  resolved  into  its  elements.  When  therefore  the  Scripture  in- 
forms us,  (ver.  1,)  that ''  the  Lord  would  take  up  Elijah  into  heaven 
by  a  whirlwind  or  storm;"  and  afterwards  (ver.ll)  that  he  did  so; 
it  tells  us,  by  a  euphuism,  that  Elijah  died  ;  as  Aaron  and  Moses,  also 
by  divine  appointment,  each  went  up  into  a  mountain  to  die  ;  (Num. 
XX.  25,  &c.  Deut.  xxxM.  49,  &c.);  and  it  sufficiently  explains  why  his 
body  could  not  afterwards  be  found. 

The  soul  and  the  body,  in  the  spiritual  sense,  are  the  internal  and 
external  man.  The  life  of  the  external  man  by  birth  is  in  oppo- 
sition to  heavenly  life,  and  consists  in  mere  lusts  or  concupiscences  ; 
wherefore  this  life  is  to  be  relinquished  or  extinguished  ;  which  is 
effected  by  means  of  temptations.  They  who  kill  the  body,  then, 
are  the  temptations,  and  the  tempting  powers,  by  whose  agency  the 
life  of  the  external  man,  or  the  life  of  man's  lusts,  is  extinguished  : 
and  he  who  hath  power  to  cast  soul  and  body  into  hell,  is  the  love  of 
evil,  which  is  opposition  to  the  Lord,  pertinaciously  cherished,  and 
which  causes  the  Lord  himself  to  appear  as  in  opposition  to  man  ; 
the  consequence  of  which  is,  the  destruction  both  of  the  internal 
and  the  external  man,  and  immersion  in  endless  misery. 
*  Chap.  i.  21.  t  Ver.  23. 


56  THE    RESURRECTION. 

of  his  body  with  the  worms,  and   collect   again  the  dust 
which  once  served  him  for  a  body  upon  earth. 

But  that  he  fully  expected  to  enter  upon  his  eternal 
inheritance  immediately  on  death,  and  then  to  be 
clothed  with  his  immortal  body,  is  indisputable,  when 
we  attend  to  what  he  says  to  the  Corinthians  in  his  se- 
cond (epistle.  After  having  remarked  that  our  light  afflic- 
tion, which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far 
more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory:"*  he  goes 
on  to  shew  that  this  is  to  be  entered  upon  as  soon  as  our 
earthly  body  dies,  saying,  "  For  we  know,  that  if  our 
earthly  tabernacle  were  dissolved,"  (no  person  I  sup- 
pose will  dispute  that  our  earthly  tabernacle  is  the  body 
in  which  we  live  on  earth: — so  soon  then  as  this  is  dis- 
solved) "  we  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made 
with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens :"| — consequently  by 
this  house  in  the  heavens,  as  opposed  to  the  earthly  ta- 
bernacle of  the  natural  body,  he  means  the  spiritual 
body,  in  which  dwells  the  soul  of  the  faithful  after  death. 
"  For  in  this,"  he  adds,  "  we  groan,  earnestly  desiring 
to  be  clothed  upon  with  our  house  which  is  from  heaven: 
if  so  be  that,  being  clothed,  we  shall  not  be  found 
naked. "J  Here  by  being  clothed  upon  by  the  house 
from  heaven,  he  must  mean,  to  appear  in  such  a  body 
as  is  enjoyed  by  the  angels,  which  is  the  image  of  the 
divine  graces  that  adorn  their  minds,  and  which  is  form- 
ed such  while  man  lives  in  the  world,  according  as  those 
graces  find  an  abiding  place  in  him:  and  by  being  found 
naked,  he  means,  to  be,  indeed,  in  a  spiritual  body,  as 
being  stripped  of  the  natural  body,  but  in  such  a  one 
as  cannot  appear  in  heaven,  being  the  form  and  image 
of  all  our  natural  corruptions,  of  which  nakedness  and 
shame  are  constantly  predicated  in  the  language  of  in- 
spiration. He  adds,  "  For  we  that  are  in  this  taberna- 
cle do  groan,  being,  burdened:  not  for  that  we  would 
be  unclothed," — that  is,  not  frowardly  desiring  to  die, — 
"  but  clothed  upon," — invested  with  a  truly  heavenly 
as  well  as  spiritual  form, — "  that  mortality  might  be 
swallowed  up  of  life."§  It  is  plain,  then,  that  he  ex- 
pected such  a  glorious  investment  to  take  place,  with 
the  faithful,  immediately  after  death;  accordingly,  he 
adds  presently,    "  Therefore  we  are  always  confident, 

*  Ch.  iv.  17.  t  Ch.  V.  1.  t  Ver.  2,  3.         §  Ver.  4. 


THE    RESURRECTION.  57 

knowing  that,  while  we  are  at  home  in  the  bod/,  we 
are  absent  from  the  Lord; — we  are  confident,  I  say, 
willing  rather  to  be  absent  ft^om  the  body,  and  to  be  present 
with  the  Lord.''^*  Here  then  we  find,  that,  with  the 
faithfiil,  when  the  earthly  tabernacle  is  put  off,  the 
heavenly  one  is  put  on,  and  that  as  soon  as  they  are  ab- 
sent from  the  body  they  are  present  with  the  Lord, — 
that  is,  immediately  after  death.  Carrying  on  therefore 
the  same  ideas,  he  proceeds  to  shew,  that  every  one  in 
particular  is  judged  also  immediately  after  death,  with- 
out waiting  to  come  back  to  take  the  material  body  for 
the  purpose:  thus  he  immediately  adds,  "  Wherefore 
we  labor,  that,  whether  present  or  absent,  we  may  be 
accepted  of  him.  For  we  must  all  appear  before  the 
judgment-seat  of  Christ;  that  every  one  may  receive 
the  things  done  in  the  body,"  (mind  that, — done  in  the 
body,  though  that  is  now  put  off,)  "  according  to  that  he 
hath  done,  whether  it  be  good  or  bad."  Who  can  read 
these  words,  and  suppose  that  the  Apostle  had  any  idea 
of  coming  back  again  to  resume  his  dead  body,  before 
he  was  thus  to  "  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of 
Christ.^"  Or  who  can  imagine,  that,  after  having  had 
his  doom  decided  "  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ," 
he  expected  to  be  sent  back  again  to  re-animate  his 
body  of  dust.-*  Evidently  then  the  Apostle  believed, 
that  when  once  he  had  laid  this  down,  he  had  done  with 
it  for  ever;  and  was  well  satisfied  with  the  expectation  of 
entering,  instead  of  it,  into  the  sensible  possession  of  his 
spiritual  body, — of  his  "  house  not  made  with  hands,  eter- 
nal in  the  heavens."  In  the  same  manner,  he  intimately 
connects  together  death  and  judgment  elsewhere:  "  It 
is  appointed  unto  all  men  once  to  die,  but  after  this  the 
judgment:"!  on  which  the  pious  Watts  judiciously  re- 
marks, ''  whether  immediate  or  more  distant  is  not  here 
expressly  declared;  though  the  immediate  connexion  of 
the  words  hardly  gives  room  for  seventeen  hundred  years 
to  intervene. ^^"^ 

We  have  before  seen,  that  the  passages  in  the  writing 
of  the  Apostle  Paul  which  are  commonly  cited  in  proof 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  material  body,  in  reality  prove 
no  such  doctrine,  but  the  contrary  ;  and  that  the  ^evf  ex- 
pressions which   might    be  understood  as  applying  to  a 

*  Ver.  6,  8,    f  Heb.  ix.  27.     %  Works,  Leeds  Ed.  vol.  vii.  p.  7. 


58  THE    RESURRECTIOxV. 

resurrection  at  some  distant  period,  by  no  means  re- 
quire such  an  interpretation  ;  We  have  now  seen,  that 
to  put  such  an  interpretation  upon  them  is  to  make  the 
Apostle  contradict  himself;  for  that  his  doctrine  unequi- 
vocally is,  that  man  rises  again  immediately  after 
death; — that  as  soon  as  his  "  earthly  house,"  or  material 
body,  is  dissolved,  the  good  man  is  clothed  with  a  spir- 
itual body  of  celestial  origin,  "a  house  from  heaven;" 
while  the  wicked  man  is  "found  naked,"  having  a  spi- 
ritual body  indeed,  but  not  of  heavenly  origin,  and  all 
the  deformity  and  shame  of  which  is  discovered  when 
divested  of  its  outer  clothing  of  clay; — that  a  particular 
judgment  is  then  immediately  passed  on  all,  for  all  then 
"appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ;" — and  that 
the  good,  being  then  "absent  from  the  body"  and  "  pre- 
sent with  the  Lord,"  immediately  have  their  "  light 
affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,"  lecompensed 
with  "  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glo- 
ry." Thus  when  the  whole  of  his  testimony  is  brought 
together,  is  not  this  Apostle  a  most  decided  preacher 
of  the  doctrine,  upon  this  subject,  which  we  offer  as  that 
of  the  New  Jerusalem? 

As  these  are  the  sentiments  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  so 
also  are  they  those  of  his  Divine  Master.  In  opening 
the  subject  above,  I  adduced  one  or  two  of  the  explicit 
declarations  in  which  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  propounds 
the  doctrine  of  an  immediate  lesurrection;  I  will  here 
add  one  or  two  more  of  his  statements  to  that  effect. 

What  then  can  be  more  decisive  than  the  Lord's 
declaration  from  the  cross  to  the  penitent  thief;  "  Ver- 
ily I  say  unto  thee.  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in 
paradise?"*  I  know  what  pains  have  been  taken  to 
evade  this  declaration,  by  explaining  paradise  to  be,  not 
heaven,  or  the  final  state  of  blessedness,  but  merely 
a  happy  part  of  the  intermediate  region  called  Hades, 
in  which  it  is  supposed  that  the  soul  is  to  wait  for  its 
re-union  with  the  body.  But  certain  it  is,  from  an- 
other remarkable  place  in  which  the  word  paradise  oc- 
curs, (where  also,  as  here,  it  comes  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,)  that  it  is  employed  to  express 
man's  final  and  highest  state  of  bliss  ;  for  it  is  said, 
^'  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree 

*  Luke  xxiii.  43. 


THE    RESURRECTlOJf.  59 

of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  paradise  of  God."* 
Can  any  suppose,  that  the  reward  here  promised  to  the 
victor  in  spiritual  conflicts  is  only  a  comfortable  situation 
in  the  intermediate  state  called  Hades^  Does  it  not  evi- 
dently refer  to  his  final  happiness  in  heaven?  Then, 
certainly,  when  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  says  to  the  peni- 
tent, "  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise,"  he 
promises  him  an  immediate  admission  into  his  final  state 
of  happiness:  consequently,  as  he  did  not,  then,  take 
his  material  body  thither,  it  is  inconsistent  with  this 
promise  to  suppose,  that  the  final  state  of  happiness  is 
not  to  be  enjoyed  without  the  resumption  of  the  material 
body. 

But  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus  is  so 
positive,  that  it,  alone,  is  amply  sufficient  to  establish 
the  fact  of  man's  resurrection,  in   a   spiritual  but  sub- 
stantial body,    with  capacities  for  the  fullest  sense  of 
either  happiness  or  misery,  either  delight  or  punishment, 
immediately  after   death.      "  The  beggar  died,  and  was 
carried  by  angels  into  Abraham's  bosom:  The  rich  man 
also  died  and  was  buried.     And  in  hell  he  lifted  up  his 
eyes,  being  in  torments,  and  seeth  Abraham  afar  off, 
and    Lazarus   in  his  bosom.     And   he  cried    and    said, 
Father  Abraham,  have  mercy  on  me,  and  send  Lazarus, 
that  he  may  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger  in  water,  and  cool 
my  tongue;  for  I  am  tormented   in    this    flame.     And 
Abraham   said,"  &c.|     Here  all  parties  are   spoken  of 
as  being  still  men,    and    as  having   the  members  and 
functions  of  men.     Notice  is  taken  of  Abraham's  6osojm, 
of   the   rich    man's   tongue,     and    of    Lazarus's  finger, 
Abraham  and  the  rich  man  hold  a  conversation.     The 
rich  man  is  represented  as  suffering  the  extreme  of  tor- 
ment, and  Abraham  and  Lazarus  as  enjoying  perfect 
happiness.     And  all  this  is  described  as  occuring  im- 
mediately on  the  death  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus;  to 
place  which  beyond  all  doubt, — to  prevent  the  possibility 
of  supposing  that  the  narrative  relates  to  a  state  which 
they  were  to  experience  after  resuming  their  bodies, — 
the  rich  man  is  made  to  speak  of  his  brethren  still  living 
in  the  natural  icorld.'^     No  one,  I  suppose,  will  have  the 
hardihood  to  say,  that   as   the   whole   is  a  parable,  and 
the  rich  man  and  Lazarus  are  fictitious  characters,  we 

^  Rev.  ii.  7.         t  Luke  xvi.  22,  to  the  end.  |  Ver.  28. 


60  THE   RESURRECTION. 

must  not  apply  what  is  said  of  them  to  real  persons  de- 
ceased: for  it  is  evident,  though  the  rich  man  and  Laza- 
rus are  imaginary  persons,  that  they  are  representatives 
of  whole  classes  of  real  persons,  and  that  what  is  said 
of  them  is  intended  to  make  us  acquainted  with  the  real 
state  of  multitudes.  Indeed,  it  is  obvious,  that  the 
main  design  of  the  parable  is,  to  communicate  informa- 
tion respecting  the  real  state  of  certain  classes  of  good 
and  wicked  persons  after  death.  The  information  it 
communicates  is,  that  man  no  sooner  leaves  this  world 
by  death,  than  he  finds  himself  living  as  a  man  complete 
in  another,  with  capacities  for  the  most  acute  sensibility 
either  to  delight  or  misery;  and  further,  that  a  particular 
judgment  takes  place  upon  man  immediately  after  death. 
And,  were  it  true  that  the  material  body  is  to  have  its 
resurrection  also,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  that  the  Di- 
vine Speaker  would  deliver  a  paralile  from  which  every 
one  would  infer  such  resurrection  to  be  needless,  without 
introducing  some  precautionary  words  to  prevent  the 
mistake.  No  such  precautionary  words  occur.  While 
the  immediate  resuscitation  of  all  that  makes  man  a  man 
is  decisively  asserted,  no  allusion  is  made  to  any  resus- 
citation of  that  extrinsic  adjunct  to  the  man,  his  material 
body.  Who  then  but  must  conclude,  from  this  divine 
relation,  that  his  material  body  is  never  to  be  attached 
to  him  again? 

I  will  close  this  part  of  the  subject  with  another  ob- 
servation on  a  passage  slightly  noticed  above,  the  Lord's 
answer  to  the  Sadducees;  the  precise  force  of  which 
seems  generally  to  have  been  overlooked.  He  finishes 
the  debate  with  them  by  saying,  "  Have  ye  not  read 
that  which  was  spoken  unto  you  by  God,  saying,  I  am 
the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God 
of  Jacob?  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but  of  the 
living."*  As  the  learned  Hody,  whose  candor  I  have 
before  had  occasion  to  commend,  here  remarks,!  "  The 
most  that  this  argument  proves,  is  the  immortality  of  the 
soul, — that  the  souls  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  did 
not  die  with  their  bodies,  as  the  Sadducees  believed." 

*  Mat',  xxii.  31,  32. 

I  In  his  "  Resurrection  of  the  Same  Body  Asserted."  He  was 
tlje  author  of  the  celebrated  work,  "  Ve  Bibliorum  Textibus  Origi- 
nalibtis" 


THE    RESURRECTION,  61 

But  let  it  be  well  observed,  tbat  the  que«5tion  in  debate 
between  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Sadducees  was, 
the  resurrection .  It  is  introduced  by  the  statement,  "  The 
same  day,  came  to  him  the  Sadducees,  which  say  there 
is  no  resurre-ction.^''*  They  conclude  their  inquiry  re- 
specting the  woman  who  had  had  seven  husbands,  by 
asking,  '''  Therefore  in  the  resurrection^  whose  wife  shall 
she  be  of  the  seven  ?"|  As  the  question  had  thus  been 
put  respecting  the  resurrection^  it  is  respecting  the  resur- 
rection thai  Jesus  shapes  his  answers:  "  In  the  resurrec- 
i^07^,"  be  says  *'  they  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in 
marriage,  but  are  as  the  angels  of  God  in  heaven. "J 
And  finally,  to  make  his  answer  as  full  and  decisive  as 
possible,  and  to  clear  his  tneaning  from  all  ambiguity, 
he  applies  his  argument  respecting  the  continued  exist- 
ence of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  to  prove,  not, 
simply,  the  resurreclion,  but,  explicitly,  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead:  for  thus  he  introduces  it:  "  But  as  touching 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead;  have  ye  not  read,"  8cc.^ 
How  is  tliis  to  be  evaded?  Jesus  proves  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead,  by  proving,  that  the  spirits  of  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  were  then  living:  Is  not  this  com- 
pletely demonstrative,  that,  in  the  idea  of  its  Divine 
Author,  the  phrase,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  has  no 
reference  whatever  to  a  resuscitation  of  dead  bodies, — 
that  the  only  resurrection  of  the  dead  ever  to  be  experi- 
enced by  man.  is  that  of  which  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  have  long  since  been  the  subjects.''  And  must 
we  not  everywhere  understand  the  phrase  in  the  same 
sense  as  is  here  undeniably  given  it  by  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  himself? 

I  may  now,  I  humbly  hope,  appeal  to  all  the  Reflect- 
ing, and  ask.  Whether  the  doctrine  which  they  who 
humbly  trust  that  they  belong  to  the  New  Church  of  the 
Lord,  signified,  in  the  Revelation,  by  the  New  Jeru- 
salem, hold  upon  the  subject  of  the  Resurrection,  is  not 
that  of  the  whole  Bible?  We  have  found,  upon  an  ex- 
tensive review  of  the  passages  commonly  relied  on  for 
the  proof  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  that  not  one 
of  them  affords  any  real  countenance  to  such  a  notion, 
but  that  many  of  them  prove  decidedly  the  reverse:  we 
have  found  that  the  passages  which  assert  man's  imme- 

^  Ver.  23.         t  Ver.  28.  J  Ver.  30.  §  Ver.  31. 

6 


62 


THE    RESURRECTION. 


diate  resurrection,  and  which  assign  to  him,  in  the  resur- 
rection, a  spiritual  body,  in  which  he  exists  as  a  real 
substantial  man,  and  becomes  a  subject  either  of  final 
happiness  or  misery,  are  numerous,  unequivocal,  and 
perfectly  conclusive:  and,  finally,  wc  have  ascertained, 
that  the  phrase,  the  resurrection  of  the  deady  means  such 
a  resurrection  as  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  experi- 
enced immediately  after  death.  Thus  the  doctrine  ofthe 
Scriptures  upon  this  momentous  subject  is  clearly  that 
which  we  have  embraced,  as  the  doctrine  of  the  New 
Jerusalem:  if  then  the  Scriptures  are  to  decide  the  ques- 
tion, it  appears  to  us,  that  our  doctrine  upon  this  subject 
is  impregnably  established. 

Let  us  now  ask,  by  way  of  conclusion,  which  doc- 
trine has  most  moral  advantages, — which  is  most  likely 
to  have  a  beneficial  effect  on  the  life  and  practice; — 
that  which  defers  man's  final  happiness  or  misery  to  an 
indefinite  distance,  and  represents  him  as  without  ra- 
pacities for  the  comj)lete  sense  of  either,  till  he  again 
becomes  a  man  by  the  resumption  of  his  dust,  after  a 
lapse  of  still,  probably,  many,  many  ages,  whilst,  during 
the  intermediate  period,  he  is  a  mere  breath  or  vapor,  or 
something  still  less  substantial,  difl^ering  but  little  from  a 
non-entity; — or  that  which  regards  him  as  rising  again, 
a  perfect  man,  as  soon  as  he  quits  his  clay,  possessing 
far  keener  powers  of  perceiving  either  happiness  or  mis- 
ery than  he  had  while  shrouded  over  with  flesh,  and  go- 
ing to  meet  his  final  doom  at  once?  No  one,  I  should 
think,  c?.n  hesitate  a  moment  about  the  answer:  but  lest 
I,  in  giving  it,  should  be  suspected  of  being  under  the 
influence  of  prejudice,  the  amiable  Watts  shall  be  the 
respondent.  "  So  corrupt,"  says  he,  *'  and  perverse  are 
the  inclinations  of  men  in  this  fallen  and  degenerate 
world,  and  their  passions  are  so  much  impressed  and 
moved  by  things  that  are  present,  or  just  at  hand,  that 
the  joys  of  heaven,  and  the  sorrows  of  hell,  when  set  far 
beyond  death  and  the  grave,  at  some  vast  and  unknown 
distance  of  time,  would  have  but  too  little  influence  on 
their  hearts  and  lives.  And  although  these  solemn  and 
important  events  are  never  so  certain  in  themselves, 
yet  being  looked  on  as  things  a  great  way  off,  they  make 
too  feeble  an  impression  on  the  conscience,  and  their 
distance  is  much  abused  to  give  an  indulgence  to  pre- 
sent sensualities.     For  this  we  have   the  testimony  of 


THE    RESURRECTION.  63 

our  blessed  Saviour  himself  (Matt.  xxiv.  48:)  <  The  evil 
servant  says,  My  Lord  delayetli  his  earning;  then  he  begins 
io  smite  his  fellow-servants^  and  to  eat  and  drink  with  the 
drunken.^  And  Solomon  teaches  the  same  truth  (Eccl. 
viii.  1 1 :)  ^Because  stnlerxce  against  an  evil  tvork  is  not  ex- 
ecuted sptedihjy  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully 
set  in  them  io  do  evil.^  And  even  the  good  servants,  in 
this  imperfect  state,  the  sons  of  virtue  and  piety,  may  be 
too  much  allured  to  indulge  sinful  negligence,  and  yield 
to  temptations  too  easily,  when  the  terrors  of  another 
world  are  set  so  far  off,  and  their  hope  of  happiness 
is  delayed  so  long. — Whereas,  if  it  can  be  made  to  ap' 
pear  from  the  Word  if  God,  that,  at  the  moment  of 
DEATH,  the  sold  enters  into  an  unchangeable  state  ac- 
cording to  its  character  and  conduct  here  on  earth,  and  that 
the  recompenses  rf  vice  and  virtue  are  to  begin  immediately 
upon  the  end  of  our  state  of  trial; — then  all  those  little 
subterfuges  are  precluded,  which  mankind  would  form  to 
themselves  from  the  unknown  distance  of  the  day  of  re- 
compense. Virtue  will  have  a  nearer  and  stronger  guard 
placed  about  it,  and  piety  will  be  attended  with  superior 
motives,  if  its  rewards  are  near  at  hand,  and  shall  com- 
mence, as  soon  as  this  life  expires;  and  the  vicious  and 
profane  will  be  more  effectually  affrighted,  if  the  hour  of 
death  must  immediately  consign  them  to  a  state  of  per- 
petual sorrows  and  bitter  anguish."  He  then  notices 
the  argument,  that  the  dead  will  awake  out  of  their 
graves  utterly  ignorant  of  the  long  time  that  has  past 
since  their  death,  wherefore  men  should  be  as  careful 
to  prepare  for  judgment  as  if  they  were  immediately  to 
undergo  it:  to  which  he  replies,  "  I  grant,  men  should 
be  so  in  all  reason  and  justice.  But  such  is  the  weak- 
ness and  folly  of  our  natures,  that  men  will  not  be  so  ranch 
influenced,  and  alarmed,  by  distant  pro>pects,  nor  so  solici- 
tous to  prepare  for  an  event  which  they  suppose  io  be  so  very 
far  off,  as  they  would  for  the  same  event,  if  it  com- 
mences as  soon  as  ever  this  mortal  life  expires.  The  vi- 
cious man  will  indulge  his  sensualities,  and  lie  down  to 
sleep  in  death,  with  this  comfort:  '  1  shall  take  my  rest 
here  for  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  years  [or  no  one  knows 
how  much  longer;]  and,  perhaps,  in  all  that  space,  my 
offences  may  be  forgotten;  or  something  may  happen 
that  I  may  escape;  or,  let  the  worst  come  that  can  come, 
I  shall  have  a  long  sweet  nap  before  my  sorrows  begin.' 


64  THE    LAST   JUDGMENT. 

Thus  the  force  of  divine  terrors  is  greathj  enervated  by  this 
delay  of  punishmcnl.^^* 

Who  can  be  insensible  to  the  power  of  these  weighty 
considerations?  And  if  they  could  be  so  strongly  felt  by 
a  writer,  who  believed,  nevertheless,  that  the  body  is  at 
last  to  be  raised  again,  and  that  all  that  is  to  be  enjoyed 
or  suffered  in  the  meantime  is  but  a  faint  foretaste  of 
what  is  to  be  experienced  afterwards;  how  truly  cogent 
do  the  arguments  become  when  relieved  by  this  neutrali- 
zing drawback, — when  it  is  seen  that  the  spirit  of  man  is 
truly  the  man  himself,  possessing  sensations  immensely 
more  acute  than  any  that  can  be  imparted  to  flesh  and 
blood, — and  when  it  thus  is  known  that  all  the  fulness 
either  of  joy  or  sorrow  w  hich  is  commonly  supposed  to  fol- 
low only  upon  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  awaits  the 
man  as  soon  as  he  enters  the  eternal  world  by  death! 
Then  the  ar«juments  of  the  heavenly-minded  Watts  be- 
come powerful  indeed.  It  is  only  in  connexion  with  our 
view  of  the  resurrection  that  they  possess  their  proper 
weight.  May  we  not  then  say,  that  whoever  wishes  to 
see  the  practice  of  virtue  enforced,  and  that  of  vice  dis- 
couraged, by  the  strongest  of  all  possible  sanctions, 
must  wish  to  see  the  truth  of  the  New-Jer'.isalem-doc- 
trine  of  the  Resurrection  cordially  acknowledged  by  aU 
mankind  ? 


SECTION  IV. 

The  Last  Judgment. 


"to' 


I  now  have  to  appeal  to  you,  my  Reflecting  Readers, 
upon  the  subject  of  the  Last  Judgment.  The  views 
which  we  believe  to  be  those  of  the  JNew  Jerusalem  of 
the  Apocalypse  in  regard  to  this  great  consummation, 
differ  considerably,  it  is  true,  from  those  commonly  en- 
tertained: and  they  also  are  such  as,  when  first  propoun- 
ded, universally  excite  no  small  degree  of  surprise:  yet 

*  Works,  Ed.  Leeds,  Vol,  vii.  p.  5,  6,  7» 


THE    LAST  JUDGMENT.  65 

their  truth  appears  to  be  by  no  means  difficult  of  proof; 
and  I  trust  that  it  has  already,  in  some  degree,  become 
apparent. 

Respecting  the  General  Judgment  our  distinguishing 
opinions  are  these  two:  First,  that,  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  the  scene  of  it  was  to  be,  not  in  the  natural 
world,  as  commonly  believed,  but  in  tiie  spiritual:  and, 
Secondly,  that  it  has  there  been  accomplished  according- 
ly. Of  these  two  propositions,  the  first  njay  already 
have  been  sufficiently  proved:  for  if  it  has  been  proved, 
as  attempted  in  the  last  Section,  that  man  rises  from  the 
dead,  in  a  spiritual  body,  immediately  on  the  death  of 
the  material  body,  and  that  no  resurrection  of  the  mate- 
rial body  will  ever  take  place,  it  necessarily  follows,  that 
the  spiritual  world,  into  which  death  introduces  him, 
can  alone  be  the  scene  of  the  judgment  he  is  to  experi- 
ence. But,  as  what  passes  in  the  spiritual  world  cannot 
be  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  tfe  natural  world  in  ge- 
neral, if  performed  there,  the  inhabitants  of  the  natural 
world  would  not  have  any  consciousness  of  what  was 
passing.  Hence  our  second  proposition,  that  it  has 
there  been  accomplished  accordingly, — affirms  nothing 
that  is  at  all  improbable  in  itself,  and  nothing  which  can, 
by  any  possibility,  be  proved  to  be  false.  We  will  first 
give  further  evidence  in  proof  of  our  first  proposition; 
after  which  we  shall  see,  that,  independently  of  the  as- 
sertions of  Swedenborg,  there  are  various  considerations 
tending  to  evince,  that  our  second,  also,  is  certainly  true. 

But  as  the  Rev.  IMr  Beaumont  has  devoted  a  Section  of 
his  Anti-Swedenborg  to  the  subject  of  the  Last  Judg- 
ment, I  must,  agreeably  to  the  plan  of  this  Appeal,  take 
some  notice  of  his  observations.  As,  however,  he  has  here 
aimed  more  at  misrepresenting  than  at  refuting  our  sen- 
timents, he  offers  nothing  in  the  way  either  of  argume:it 
or  of  eviderice  that  need  detain  us  long. 

Among  the  arts  too  often  resorted  to  by  polemic  wri- 
ters, it  has  been  observed  that  this  is  one.  'J  he  contro- 
vertist  selects  some  doctrine  of  great  importance  which 
no  one  ever  thought  of  denying;  he  proves  with  great 
display  of  authorities  the  certainty  of  such  doctrine;  he 
insinuates  that  its  truth  is  denied  by  those  whose  sen- 
timents it  is  wi:shed  to  render  odious;  and  then,  because, 
he  has  clearly  proved  what  nobody  doubts,  he  triumphs 
as  if  he  had  completely  defeated  the  object  of  his  attack. 
6* 


66  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT, 

This  is  the  course  frequently  adopted  by  assailants  of  the 
'New  Church,  and,  among  the  rest,  by  the  author  of  the 
Anti-Swedcnborg.  As  if  we  denied  the  last  judgment 
altogether,  he  introduces  the  subject  with  these  remarks: 
"  The  doctrine  of  the  Last  Judgment  is  of  high  import, 
and  is  most  clearly  revealed  in  the  Word  of  God.  Nor 
has  there  ever  been  much  controversy  in  the  Christian 
world  on  this  subject :  which  is  a  clear  proof,  if  more  than 
Scripture  proof  were  wanting,  that  the  doctrine  has  met 
with  the  acquiescence  of  all  men  throughout  the  Christian 
world,  with  the  exception,  now  of  late,  of  the  Sweden- 
borgians,  who,  I  suppose,  wish  to  be  called  Christians." 
Accordingly,  to  put  down  these  wicked  Swedenborgians, 
a  great  display  of  texts  is  made  in  which  a  judgment  is 
asserted.  These  are  mostly  taken,  as  they  ought  to  be, 
from  the  Bible;  but  the  first  and  longest  of  them  is  ex- 
tracted from  the  "  Mahometan's  Creed;"  as  if,  on  this 
subject,  the  Bible  and  the  Koran  were  of  equal  autho- 
rity! The  ancient  heathens,  also,  are  brought  in  to  con- 
demn us.  ''  Many,"  says  Mr  B.,  "  of  the  wiser  hea- 
thens believed  in  a  general  judgment  in  some  form; 
though  theirybnn  might  differ  iroin  that  recorded  in  the 
Scripture,  yet  the  thing  they  believed.  For  they  could 
in  no  wise  reconcile  themselves  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
vicious,  and  the  adversity  of  the  virtuous,  which  was 
every  day  before  their  eyes,  but  on  the  supposition  of  a 
future  reckoning  day,  and  an  hereafter  of  rewards  and 
punishments."*  Now  to  what  purpose  is  all  this,  when 
it  never  entered  into  the  thoughts  of  one  of  those  persons 
whom  he  calls  Swedenborgians,  to  have  any  shadow  of 
doubt  about  the  reality  of"  a  future  reckoning  day,  and 
a  hereafter  of  rewards  and  punishments?"  If  the  hea- 
thens are  to  be  commended,  because  they  "  believed  in  a 
general  judgment  in  some  form,  though  their  form  might 
differ  from  that  recorded  in  the  Scriptures,"  are  we  to  be 
censured,  because  we  believe  in  a  general  judgment  in 
the  form  recorded  in  the  Scriptures,  though  our  form 
may  differ  from  that  preferred  by  Mr  Beaumont?  And 
because  the  form  of  the  general  judgment  believed  in 
by  us,  and  taken  by  us  from  the  Scriptures,  differs  from 
that  preferred  by  Mr  Beaumont,  are  the  heathens  to  be 
called  in  to  condemn  us,   as  if,  worse  than  they,  we  de- 

*P.  54. 


THE   LAST    JUDGMENT.  67 

nied  both  the  form  and  the  thing?  If,  in  the  above  par- 
agraph, our  accuser  did  not  mean  to  insinuate  this,  he 
meant  nothing,  and  wrote  what  was  as  irrelevant  to  his 
own  design  as  it  is  to  our  sentiments.  Indeed,  scarcely 
anything  that  he  has  said  in  this  part  of  his  work  applies 
to  our  views  in  any  degree  whatever.  Our  doctrines 
affirm,  that  a  particular  judgment  takes  place,  on  every 
individual,  at  death:  he  then  who  wishes  to  overthrow 
them,  ought  to  prove  from  Scripture,  that  no  one  under- 
goes any  particular  judgment  after  death  whatever. 
Our  doctrines  affirm,  that  the  general  judgment  men- 
tioned in  Scripture  was  to  take  place  in  the  spiritual 
world  and  not  in  the  natural,  and  that,  agreeably  to  di- 
vine prediction,  it  has  there  been  performed  according- 
ly: he  then  who  would  overthrow  them  should  prove,  that 
the  general  judgment  was  not  to  take  place  in  the  spirit- 
ual world,  but  in  the  natural,  and  that  it  will  not  be  per- 
formed till  the  total  end  and  destruction  of  the  world' 
None  of  these  points  has  our  opponent  attempted  to  es- 
tablish: as  then  all  that  he  has  said  upon  the  subject  is 
entirely  beside  the  question,  I  shall  proceed  to  deliver 
our  sentiments  respecting  it  without  further  noticing 
either  his  arguments  or  his  texts.  All  that  he  has  ad- 
vanced respecting  it  we  fully  admit,  except  his  Mahom- 
etan proof,  and  his  misrepresentations  of  our  views.* 

*  I  here  subjoin,  with  a  remark  or  two  to  shew  their  inadequacy 
to  the  object,  the  few  sentences  in  which  Mr  Beaumont  makes  any 
attempt  to  encounter  our  sentiments. 

After  the  piragraph  respacting  the  acknowledgment  by  the  hea- 
thens of  "  a  future  reckoning  day  and  a  hereafter  of  rewards  and 
punishments,"  he  adds,  (p.  54,  55),  "  But  I  must  not  wrong  the  Swe- 
denborgiaus,  for  they  allow  of  a  judgment;  but  it  is  a  judgment  on 
every  individual  soon  after  leaving  the  material  body,  and  takes  place 
in  the  spiritual  world  !"  In  connexion  with  what  had  gone  befo  e- 
and  marked,  as  it  is,  by  the  note  of  exclamation,  this  must  be  intended 
to  treat  such  a  mode  of  "  allowing  of  a  judgment"  as  nugatory  and 
evasive, — as  if  it  were  no  judgment  at  all :  What  man  however,  of 
sound  mind  but  must  feel,  that  "  a  judgment  on  every  individual 
soon  after  leaving  the  material  body,"  is,  to  every  individual,  an  in- 
comparably more  serious  affair,  than  a  judgment  to  take  place  many 
hundreds  or  thousands  of  years  hence  ?  Mr  B.  proceeds:  "  If  it  be 
true,  as  some  learned  men  say,  that,  in  the  whole  world,  more  than 
sixty  persons  die  every  minute,  one  minute  with  another ;  then  there 
can  be  no  cessation  to  the  woik  of  judgment!"  Another  eloquent 
note  of  admiration,  to  call  upon  the  reader  to  supply  by  his  imagin- 
ation the  objection,  which,  the  author  saw,  would  appear  ulterly  fu- 
tile if  plainly  stated.     For  what  can  be  the  design  of  this  sentence. 


68  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

I.     The  first  proposition  then  that  I  am  to  endeavor 
to  establish,  is,  '1  hat  the  General  Judgment  announc- 

with  its  note  of  admiration,  but  to  hint,  that  the  Divine  Judge  would 
find  such  a  mode  of  judgment  too  troublesome  and  difficult  ?  If  my 
dulness  of  apprehension  causes  m  '.  to  do  our  assailant  any  injustice, 
I  beg  his  pardon  ;  but  if  this  be  not  the  meaning  of  the  sentence,  it 
appears  to  me  to  have  no  meaning  at  all,  but  to  be  the  merest  non- 
sense ;  and  whether  such  a  meaning  will  raise  it  much  above  non- 
sense, the  reader  must  determine.  The  objector  insinuates,  that  to 
judge  of  the  cases  of  sixty  persons  in  a  minute,  is  too  hard  for  Omni- 
science; wherefore,  to  simplify  the  matter,  he  would  have  all  who 
have  died  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  the  end  of  it  judged  at 
once.  He  goes  on  :  "  And  if  that  be  true  also,  which  a  zealous  Swe- 
denborgian  once  told  me,  that  according  to  their  doctrine  the  world 
will  never  be  at  an  end,  but  will  last  for  ever,  then  there  must  be  an 
everlasting  propagation  of  mankind."  This  is  a  sad  aggravation  of 
the  difficulty,  indeed.  If  the  human  race  is  thus  to  continue,  and 
the  ratio  of  its  increase  goes  on  as  at  present,  instead  of  only  sixty 
dying  in  a  minute,  there  will  at  length  be  six  hundred,  or  six  thou- 
sand;  and  then  how  can  they  be  judged  ?  The  mind  of  the  objector 
is  overwhelmed  at  the  thought ;  and  he  apprehends  that  the  Almighty 
must  sink  under  the  ta«k,  as  he  does  under  the  idea.  Can  he  real- 
ly mean  to  suggest  that  "  the  everlasting  propagation  of  man- 
kind" is  too  much  for  Infinity  ?  Can  he  in  fact  suppose,  that  Infinity 
can  be  satisfied  with  less  ?  Can  he  behold  the  countless  multitude  of 
suns  which  the  telescope  discovers  to  us,  each  acco:i.panied,  as  rea- 
son necessarily  concludes,  with  its  dependent  worlds  ;  can  he  admit 
that  all  these  are  replenished  with  inhabitants,  and  with  an  endless 
variety  of  natural  productions,  like  the  world  in  which  we  live  ;  can 
he  believe  that  the  minutest  and  the  greatest  of  all  things  are  alike 
the  workmanship  of  the  Creator;  and  that  his  providence,  through- 
out all  worlds,  is  as  universal  as  the  Lord  teaches  when  he  says,  that 
not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground  without  our  heavenly  Father,  and 
that  the  very  hairs  of  our  head  are  all  numbered .'  Can  his  mind 
embrace  all  this,  and  then  shrink  from  the  congenial  idea,  that  He 
who  has  produced  i^nd  who  governs  these  mighty  works,  did  not  cre- 
ate them  for  the  sake  of  uncreating  them  again,  but,  as  they  are 
boundless  in  extent,  so  are  they  intended  to  be  in  duration,  and  their 
Creator  will  continue  to  draft  ofiffrom  them  inhabitants  for  his  heaven- 
ly kingdom,  in  continuallj'  increasing  numbers,  without  end  ?  Alas, 
this  thought  seems  to  distress  our  poor  friend  most  of  all ;  for  he 
adds,  as  something  transcendantly  monstrous,  "  And  then  again,  ac- 
cording to  this  New  Jerusalem  doctrine,  all  mankind  after  death  be- 
come either  angels  in  heaven  or  devils  in  hell;  wherefore,  it  clearly 
follows  that  this  world,  their  doctrine  being  admitted,  is  nothing  but 
a  manufactory  of  angels  and  devils  !"  Most  truly,  it  does  so  follow  : 
and  if  the  inference  thus  sagaciously  brought  out  is  sufficient  to  con- 
demn the  "  New  Jerusalem  doctrine,"  we  have  not  a  syllable  to 
offer  in  extenuation.  If  Mr  B.  will  have  it  so,  "  this  world  is  no- 
thino-  but  a  manufactoiy  of  angles  and  devils."  And  pray,  for  what 
"  manufactory,"  more  worthy  of  its  Creator  than  that  of  angels, 
does  he  think  it  can  be  designed  ?  (as  for  devils,  he  knows  that,  ac- 
cording to  our  doctrines,  they  are  not  manufactured  such  by  the 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  69 

ed  in  Scripture,  as  to  be  performed  at  the  Second  Com- 
ing of  the  Lord,  was  not  to  take  place  in  the  natural 
world,  as  commonly  supposed,  but  ii  the  spiritual. 

That  it  was  not  to  take  place  in  the  natural  world,  is 
evident  from  this  consideration:  that  the  circumstances 
announced  in  prophecy  as  being  to  attend  it,  are  such  as 
cannot  be  intended  to  be  literally  understood,  and,  some 
of  them,  such  as  are  impossible  in  the  nature  of  things. 

For  what  is  the  nature  of  the  Last  Judgment,  accord- 
ing to  the  common  apprehensions  of  it;  and  how  is  it  to 
be  performed  ?  We  have  all  been  told  from  our  childhood, 
that  angels  are  to  appear  with  trumpets,  the  sound  of 
which  shall  be  so  loud,  as  not  only  to  rouse  to  a  sense  of 
the  great  event  at  hand  the  whole  race  of  mankind  then 
living  upon  the  globe,  but  also  to  wake  the  dead:  for  then 

" ^— a  mighty  trump,  one  half  concealed 

In  clouds,  one  half  to  mortal  eye  revealed, 
Shall  pDur  a  dreadful  note  ;  the  piercing  call 
Shall  rattle  in  the  centre  of  the  ball. 
The  extended  circuit  of  creation  shake  ; 
The  living  die  with  fear,  the  dead  awake."* 

Or,  as  another  poet  describes  it, 

"  Celestial  guards  the  topmost  height  attend. 
And  crowds  of  angels  down  from  heaven  descend; 
With  their  big  cheeks  the  deafening  clarions  wind. 
Whose  dreadful  clangors  startle  all  mankind: — 
Ten  thousand  worlds  revive  to  better  skies, 
And  from  their  tombs  *he  thronging  corses  rise."t 

No  matter  how  long  since  they  may  have  lain  mould- 
ering in  the  dust,  nor  how  widely  their  particles  may  have 
been  scattered  asunder;  no  matter  into  what  other  sub- 
stances they  may  have  passed;  nor  even  though,  by 
being  devoured  by  cannibals,  or  by  passing  into  the  sub- 
stances of  vegetables  and  animals,  and  being  thence  again 
taken  into  the  human  system,  they  may  have  formed  parts 

Creator,  but  by  themselves.)  Does"he  mean  to  deny  the  fact,  and 
affirm  that  mankind  do  not  become  either  angels  or  devils  ?  It  really 
is  not  easy  to  tell  what  he  means;  further  than  this;  that  he  is  de- 
termined, at  any  rate,  to  contradict  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem, but  cannot  find  anything  plausible  to  urge  against  them. 
The  plain  English  of  such  objections  is  this, — that  those  sublime  and 
heavenly  doctrines  make  God  too  wise,  too  good,  and  too  great. 

*  Young. 

t  Amhurst's  translation  of  Addison's  celebrated  Latin  poem  on  the 
Altar-piece  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford, 


TO  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

of  human  bodies  many  times  over;  no  matter  for  these 
and  a  thousand  difficulties  more,  all  shall  revive: 

"  And  now,  from  every  corner  of  the  eaith, 
The  scattered  dust  is  called  to  second  birth  ; 
Whether  in  mines  it  formed  the  ripenino;  mass. 
Or  humbly  mixed  and  flourished  in  the  grass, 
[Or  holds  the  station  that  it  held  before. 
In  human  forms  incorporate  o'er  and  o'er.] 
The  severed  body  now  unites  again. 
And  kindred  atoms  rally  into  men  — 
Here  an  imperfect  form  returns  to  light. 
Not  half  renewed,  dishonest  to  the  sight; 
Maimed  of  his  nose  appears  his  blotted  face, 
And  scarce  the  image  of  a  man  we  trace  : 
Here,  b}'  degrees  infused,  the  vital  ray 
Gives  the  first  motion  to  the  panting  clay: 
Slow,  to  new  life  the  thawing  fluids  creep, 
And  the  stiff  joints  wake  heavily  from  sleep."* 

This  description,  to  be  sure,  exposes  a  little  of  the  in- 
conveniences of  the  operation;  however,  all  shall  be 
made  complete, 

" not  the  least  atom 


Embezzled  or  mislaid  of  the  whole  tale. 
Each  soul  shall  have  a  body  ready-furnished; 
And  each  shall  have  his  own."t 

The  whole  terraqueous  globe,  it  seems,  like  one  huge 
mine,  is  suddenly  to  explode,  and  every  spot,  both  of  earth 
and  sea,  is  to  shoot  out  a  human  body: 

"  So  when  famed  Cadmus  sowed  the  fruitful  field, 
With  pregnant  throes  the  quickened  furrow  swell'dj 
From  the  warm  soil  sprung  up  a  warlike  train. 
And  human  harvests  covered  all  the  plain. "| 

These,  however,  though  they  appear  as  men  complete, 
are  as  yet  only  men's  bodies:  the  souls,  therefore,  which 
formerly  animated  them,  and  which  have  been  reserved 
in  some  unknown  region,  are  to  be  called  from  their  ob- 
scure and  not  very  comfortable  retreat,  and  united  with 
them  again: 

"  The  body  thus  renewed,  the  conscious  soul. 
Which  has,  perhaps,  been  fluttering  near  the  pole, 

*  Amhurst's  Addison. 

t  Blair.     Well  may  the  poet  add, 

"  Ask  not  how  this  shall  he." — 
And  well  may  both  poet  and  dogmatist  seek  to  silence  inquiry  with 
the  magic  word  "  Omnipotence." 

tAmhurst's  Addison. 


THE    LAST   JUDGMENT.  71 

Or  midst  the  burning  planets  wondering  strayed, 
Or  hovered  o'er  where  her  pale  corpse  was  laid ; 
O^rather  coasted  on  her  final  state, 
And  feared,  or  wished,  for  her  appointed  fate  ; 
This  soul,  returning  with  a  constant  flame. 
Now  weds  for  ever  her  immortal  frame."* 

And  notwithstanding  the  multitude  of  spirits  and  bodies 
thus  seeking  for  each  other,  they  shall  all  find  their  own, 

•*  Nor  shall  the  conscious  soul 
Mistake  its  partner;  but  amidst  the  crowd. 
Singling  its  other  half,  into  its  arms 
Shall  rush,  with  all  the  impatience  of  a  man 
That's  new  come  home,  who  having  long  been  absent, 
With  haste  runs  over  every  ditferent  room, 
In  pain  to  see  the  whole. "t 

These  then  are  all  to  join  those  who  may  then  be  living, 
and,  forming  with  them  an  innumerably  great  army,  are 
to  wait  the  decision  of  their  lot.  To  continue  our  poet- 
ical selections: 

"  Ten  thousand  trumpets  now  at  once  advance  ; 
Now  deepest  silence  lulls  the  vast  expanse  : 
So  deep  the  silence,  and  so  loud  the  blast. 
As  Nature  died  when  she  had  groaned  her  last. 
Nor  man  nor  angel  moves.     The  Judge  on  high 
Looks  round,  and  with  his  glory  fills  the  sKy : 
Then  on  the  fatal  book  his  hand  he  lays. 
Which  high  to  view  supporting  seraphs  raise: 
In  solemn  form  the  rituals  are  prepared, 
The  seal  is  broken,  and  a  groan  is  heard. — 
Aloft,  the  seats  of  bliss  their  pomp  display, 
Brighter  than  brightness,  this  distinguished  day  : 
Horrors  beneath,  darkness  in  darkness,  hell 
Of  hell,  where  torments  behind  torments  dwell ; 
A  furnace  formidable,  deep,  and  wide, 
O'erboiling  with  a  mad  sulphureous  tide. 
Expands  its  jaws,  most  dreadful  to  survey, 
And  roars  outrageous  for  the  destined  prey. — 
Such  is  the  scene  :  and  one  short  moment's  space 
Concludes  the  hopes  and  fears  of  human  race. "J 

While  this  is  proceeding,  all  the  elements  sympathize: 
the  world  takes  fire;  the  stars  fall  to  the  earth;  and  at 
length  all  creation  perishes  in  one  universal  conflagra- 
tion: 

"  Reverse  all  Nature's  web  shall  run, 

And  spotless  Misrule,  all  around, 

Order,  its  flying  foe,  confound, 

While  backward  all  the  threads  shall  haste  to  be  unspun." 

*  Young.  t  Blair.  J  Young. 


72  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

**  The  sun,  by  sympathy  concerned, 

At  these  convulsions,  pangs,  antl  agonies. 

Which  on  the  whole  creation  seize,  ^ 

Is  to  substantial  darkness  turned. 

The  neighboring  moon,  as  if  a  purple  flood 

O'erflowed  her  tottering  orb,  appears 

Like  a  huge  mass  of  black  corrupting  blood; 

For  she  herself  a  dissolution  fears." 

*'  No  more  the  stars,  with  paler  beams. 

Shall  tremble  o'er  the  midnight  streams, 

But  travel  downward,  to  behold 

What  mimics  them  so  twinkling  there  ; 

And,  like  Narcissus,  as  they  gain  more  near, 

For  the  loved  image  straight  expire, 

And  agonize  in  warm  desire, 

Or  slake  their  heat  as  in  the  stream  they  roll. 

Whilst  the  World  burns,  and  all  the  orbs  below 

In  their  expiring  ruins  glow. 

They  sink,  and  unsupported  leave  the  skies, 

Which  fall  abrupt,  and  tell  their  torment  in  their  noise."* 

*'  This  globe,  alone,  would  but  defraud  the  fire, 

Starve  its  devouring  rage  :   the  flakes  aspire 

And  catch  the  clouds;  and  make  the  heavens  their  prey  : 

The  sun,  the  moon,  the  stars,  all  melt  away: 

All,  all  is  lost:  no  monument,  no  sign, 

W^here  once  so  proudly  blazed  the  gay  machine. 

So  bubbles  on  the  foaming  stream  expire  ; 

So  sparks  that  scatter  from  the  kindling  fire. 

The  devastations  of  one  dreadful  hour 

The  great  Creator's  six-days'  work  devour."f 

It  is  thus  that  the  Last  Judgment  is  usually  described. 
I  have  taken  my  delineation  of  it  from  the  poets,  because 
it  is  to  poetry  that  such  ideas  properly  appertain:  I  have 
been  careful,  however,  not  to  borrow  from  them  any  cir- 
cumstances of  their  own  invention,  but  only  such  as, 
whether  related  in  poetry  or  in  prose,  are  generally  be- 
lieved to  belong  to  the  subject;  and  it  would  be  easy  to 
repeat  all  their  statements  from  almost  every  prose-wri- 
ter who  has  handled  the  theme.  Of  the  poets,  also, 
whom  I  have  cited,  three  were  clergymen,  whose  ortho- 
doxy has  never  been  disputed;  and  the  fourth  (Addison), 
IS  an  author,  whose  authority,  on  such  a  subject,  few  of 
the  clergy  would  reject.  But  who  can  weigh,  in  the  bal- 
ance of  a  cool  deliberate  judgment,  such  representations 
as  the  above,  without  concluding,  that  the  facts  affirmed 
in  them  are  as  purely  poetical  as  the  language  ? — in  other 

*  Pomfret.  \  Young. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  73 

words,  that  the  facts  are  pure  figures,  bearing,  indeed, 
a  distinct  signification, — relating  to  circumstances  which 
were  infallibly  to  come  to  pass, — but  the  true  nature  of 
which  must  be  totally  mistaken  while  the  figurative  lan- 
guage in  which  they  are  described  is  literally  under- 
stood? The  facts  are  all  taken  from  the  prophetic  lan- 
guage of  Scripture:  they  are  the  figures  of  inspired  pro- 
phecy transferred  into  the  works  of  uninspired  writers: 
and  who  can  seriously  consider  them,  and  advert  to  the 
manifold  inconsistencies  which  the  literal  adherence  to 
them  includes,  as  unconsciously  drawn  out  and  dwelt 
upon  by  the  writers  of  the  above  quotations,  without  ac- 
ceding to  the  assertion  of  the  illustrious  Swedenborg, 
That  men  have  formed  such  notions  respecting  the  last 
judgment,  merely  because  the  genuine  spiritual  sense 
of  the  Holy  Word  has  not  heretofore  been  known,  and 
the  language  in  which  it  is  written,  which  is  that  of  the 
perpetual  analogy  or  correspondence  established  by  the 
Creator  between  spiritual  things  and  natural,  has  not 
been  understood?*  But  why  abide  by  the  letter  here, 
when  many  things  are  affirmed  in  prophecy,  in  connex- 
ion with  the  above,  which  are  never  literally  interpre- 
ted? no  one,  for  instance,  ever  yet  dreamed,  that,  at  the 
time  of  the  Last  Judgment,  or  preparatory  to  it,  a  dragon 
would  be  seen  falling  from  heaven,  a  woman  in  labor 
clothed  with  the  sun,  and  a  beast  with  seven  heads  and 
ten  horns  ascending  out  of  the  sea,  while  another  with 
two  lamb's  horns  rises  out  of  the  earth,  as  described  in 
chs.  xii.  and  xiii.  of  the  Revelation:  and  yet  it  were 
just  as  reasonable  to  expect  these  phaenomena  then  to 
take  place,  as  to  expect  all  dead  carcases  to  leave  their 
graves;  the  Divine  Judge  to  appear  visibly  in  the  clouds, 
seated  on  a  throne  there  placed,  with  books  open  before 
him;  the  sun  and  moon  to  be  extinguished,  and  the  stars 
to  fall  from  heaven;  and  the  earth  and  visible  heavens, 
thus  the  whole  visible  universe,  to  be  consumed  with 
fire.  The  latter  are  all  symbolic  images  as  well  as  the 
former,  and  are  only  to  be  understood  by  the  same  rule 
of  interpretation.  In  the  spiritual  world,  indeed,  where, 
as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel,  all  the  natural  objects  that 

*  See  the  masterly  and  profound  manner  in  which  this  subject  is 
treated  by  Swedenborg  himself,  in  the  first  five  Sections  of  his  work 
On  the  Last  Judgment. 


74  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

arc  seen,  .ire  not  real  natural  objects,  but  appearances 
of  them,  corresponding  to  the  internal  state  and  circum- 
stances of  the  spirits  and  angels,  and  conveying  to  the 
minds  of  t!»e  beholders  the  ideas  of  which  they  are  ex- 
pressive;— there,  such  appearances  as  are  described  in 
the  prophetic  language  of  Scripture,  are  doubtless  seen 
on  the  occasions  in  connexion  with  which  they  arc  men- 
tioned: but  in  the  natural  world  the  case  is  quite  differ- 
ent; and  hence  the  circumstances  mentioned  respecting 
the  Last  Judgment  are  not  in  the  natural  world  literally 
to  take  place,  and  some  of  them  are  such  as  cannot 
possibly  be  there  exhibited.  It  will  hence  follow,  that 
it  is  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  not  in  the  natural,  that, 
according  to  the  Scriptures,  the  Last  Judgment  was  to  be 
performed.  The  effects  of  it,  indeed,  must,  doubtless,  be 
ielt  in  the  natural  world  also,  and  much  that  is  described 
as  accompanying  it  must  have,  in  the  natural  world,  a 
spiritual  fulfilment:  but  it  is  in  the  spiritual  world  only 
that  the  judgment  itself  could  be  performed;  and  in  the 
spiritual  world  only  that  any  of  the  circumstances  pre- 
dicated respecting  it  could  literally  occur. 

We  will,  however,  consider  the  common  ideas  of  the 
Last  Judgment  a  little  further.  The  principal  circum- 
stances expected  to  attend  it,  beside  the  elevation  of  the 
good  into  heaven  and  the  casting  of  the  wicked  into  hell, 
are  these:  1.  The  resurrection  of  all  dead  bodies:  2. 
The  appearance  of  the  Lord  in  the  clouds:  3.  The  con- 
flagration of  the  world,  and  of  the  whole  material  universe. 
These  three  things  arc  essential  to  the  performance  of 
the  last  judgment  in  the  manner  commonly  looked  for: 
if  then  it  can  be  proved  that  either  of  them  will  not  take 
place,  the  error  of  the  common  idea  of  the  Last  Judg- 
ment is  demonstrated,  and  it  becomes  certain  that  the 
natural  world  is  not  to  be  the  scene  of  its  performance. 

The  first  of  these  circumstances.  The  resurrection  of 
all  dead  bodies,  is  the  great  foundation,  the  essential 
basis,  of  the  received  doctrine  of  the  Last  Judgment. 
If  the  bodies  of  the  dead  be  not  to  rise  again,  it  is  per- 
fectly evident,  that  the  judgment  upon  the  deceased 
cannot  be  performed  in  the  natural  world.  If  then  it  has 
been  proved  in  the  last  Section,  as  attempted,  that  there 
is  not  a  single  passage  of  Scripture  which  predicts  any 
such  thing  as  the  resurrection  of  the  body;  if  it  has  been 
proved  that  the  resurrection  of  the  Scriptures  is  a  rising 


THE    LAST   JUDGMENT.  75 

in  a  spiritual  body,  into  a  spiritual  world,  immediately 
after  death;  if  it  has  been  proved  that  it  is  a  mistake  to 
understand  the  Scripture  phrase,  " /Ae  i-csurrcclionoflhe 
dead,^^  as  if  it  meant  the  resurrection  of  the  body^  since 
Jesus  Christ  himself  explains  it  to  mean  no  other  resur- 
rection than  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  have  already 
experienced:  then,  as  observed  above,  the  common  mode 
of  expecting  the  Last  Judgment  has  already  been  proved 
to  be  unfounded.  The  materials  of  such  ajudgment  are 
gone:  and,  to  make  our  ideas  of  the  subject  consistent 
with  this  fact,  we  must  transfer  our  expectation  ofthe 
judgment  to  that  world,  into  which  they  who  are  to  be 
judged  are  transferred  by  the  resurrection. 

The  second  circumstance.  The  appearance  of  the  Divine 
Judge  in  the  clouds^  is  also  essential  to  the  received  doc- 
trine of  the  Last  Judgment:  for  the  presence,  in  the 
natural  world,  ofthe  Judge,  is  indispensable,  if  the  par- 
ties to  be  judged  are  there  assembled.  If  then  it  has 
been  proved  in  our  second  Section,*  as  attempted,  that 
such  a  personal  coming  of  the  Lord  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven, — that  is,  of  the  sky, — is  a  thing  impossible;  if 
it  has  been  proved,  that  if  we  understand,  from  the  literal 
sense  of  some  prophecies,  that  he  will  make  his  advent 
in  the  clouds,  we  must  understand,  from  the  literal  sense 
of  another,  that  he  will  come  riding  on  horseback,  which 
idea  every  mind  at  once  rejects  as  absurd;!  if  it  has  been 
proved  that  such  symbolic  language  is  intended  to  an- 

*  See  above,  p.  12  and  13.  For  thereasons  why  the  nature  of  the 
Lord's  Second  Cominsj,  and  of  the  Last  Judgment  then  to  be  per- 
formel,  has  not  hitherto  been  understood,  see   also  above,  p.  9  to  12. 

t  It  may  be  remarked,  in  addition,  that  if  reason  be  consulted  on 
the  doctrine  of  the  appearance  of  the  Lord  in  the  clouds  to  judge 
all  who  ever  lived  on  the  earth,  it  will  be  seen  to  be  full  of  manifest 
inconsistencies.  Thus  if  all  dead  bodies  are  to  rise,  they  must,  as 
observed  above,  be  exploded  from  all  parts  of  the  earth  and  sea. 
But  this  world  is  in  the  form  of  a  globe,  and  the  clouds  are  never 
more  than  a  very  few  miles  above  its  surface  :  Hence,  the  remotest 
star  can  only  be  visible  1j  half  the  globe  at  a  time  ;  and  the  highest 
cloud  can  never  be  seen  iVom  more  than  a  very  small  segment  of 
the  convex  earth.  In  what  part  of  the  clouds,  then,  is  the  Judge 
to  appear,  so  as  to  be  visible  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  globe,  pre- 
viously living  and  resurrected,  at  once  ?  These  and  other  inconsis- 
tencies seem  alone  sufficient  to  convince  any  one  who  reflects  on 
them,  that  the  natural  world  was  not  to  be  the  scene  of  the  Last 
Judgment. 


76  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

nounce,  not  his  coming  into  this  world  in  person,  but 
his  presence  in  his  Word  of  Divine  Truth,  imparting  to 
the  intellectual  faculties  of  man  the  power  of  rightly  un- 
derstanding it,  opening  the  clouds  of  the  letter,  and  re- 
vealing the  glories  of  its  spiritual  signification:  then,  al- 
so, the  common  mode  of  expecting  the  Last  Judgment 
has  already  been  proved  to  be  founded  in  misconception. 
The  means  of  executing  such  a  judgment  are  taken  away; 
and  to  make  our  ideas  of  the  subject  consistent  with  this 
fact,  we  must  look  for  its  performance  in  that  world, 
where  such  a  personal  appearance  of  the  Lord,  and 
such  symbolic  representations  as  are  described  as  at- 
tending it,  are  not  only  not  impossible,  but  are  perfectly 
agreeable  to  the  laws  of  nature, — the  nature,  that  is,  of 
a  spiritual  world,  and  of  spiritual  existences.* 

The  third  circumstance,  The  conflagration  of  the  world 
and  of  the  ivholc  irnterial  universe y  belongs,  in  itself,  less 
essentially  than  tiie  two  former  to  the  performance  of  the 
Last  Judgment  in  the  natural  world:  yet  it  is  equally 
necessary  to  the  received  doctrine  on  the  subject:  be- 
cause the  received  doctrine  is  drawn  from  the  prophetic 
language  of  Scripture  taken  in  its  literal  sense  only:  and 
in  the  literal  sense  of  those  prophecies  the  passing  away 
of  heaven  and  earth,  the  burning  of  the  day  of  the  Lord 
as  an  oven,  the  extinction  of  the  sun  and  moon  and  the 
falling  from  heaven  of  the  stars,  are  repeatedly  announc- 
ed. But  if  it  has  been  proved,  as  was  likewise,  in  our 
second  section,  attempted,  that  by  these  phrases,  ac- 
companied also,  as  they  frequently  are,  by  the  promise 
of  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,  is  constantly  meant 
the  dissolution  or  termination  of  one  dispensation  of  di- 
vine things  and  the   founding  of  a  new  one, — or  "  the 

*  The  Lord's  making  his  Second  Coming,  in  a  spiritual  manner, 
among  the  inhabitants  of  this  world,  by  restoring  the  right  appre- 
hension of  his  Divine  Truth,  together  with  the  life  of  it,  and  thus 
effecting  the  renovation  of  his  church  universal  among  men,  accord- 
ing to  the  view  offered  in  the  second  Section,  is  a  consequence  of 
his  accomplishing  the  last  Judgment  in  the  spiritual  world;  and  this 
also  he  accomplishes  by  means  of  his  Divine  Truth, — by  pouring 
forth  the  influences  of  his  Spirit  of  Truth  in  such  a  manner  as  the 
wicked  cannot  bear.  Hence,  as  it  is  more  particularly  in  his  char- 
acter as  the  Divine  Truth  itself  that  the  Lord  executes  judgment, 
he  is  always  called,  on  that  occasion,  the  Son  of  man  ; — as  when  he 
gays,  that  the  Father  "  hath  given  him  authority  to  execute  judgment 
also,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  man"  (John  v.  27;)  for,  as  is  men- 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  77 

putting  an  entire  end  to  one  order  of  things,  and  the 
comniencement    of  a  new  one,  either  with  respect  to 

tioned  above,  p.  14,  and  is  shewn  at  large  in  my  work  on  the  Plenary 
Inspiration  ol'  the  Scriptures,  the  Son  ol  man  is  a  tide  assumed  by  the 
Lord  in  reference  to  his  character  as  the  Divine  Truth  :  and  that  it 
is  to  his  Word,  which  is  the  same  thing  as  the  Divine  Truth,  that 
judgment  belongs,  he  himself  teaches  when  he  says,  "  If  any  man 
hear  my  words,  and  believe  not,  I  judge  him  not :  for  I  came  not  to 
judge  the  world,  but  to  save  the  world.  He  that  rejecteth  me,  and 
receiveth  not  my  words,  hath  one  that  judgeth  him  ;  the  word  that 
I  have  spoken,  the  same  shall  judge  hi7n  in  the  last  day"  (John  xii. 
47,  48.)  Hence  we  see  the  harmony  between  the  spiritual  fulfil- 
ment of  the  predictions  relating  to  his  Second  Coming  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  this  world,  and  the  spiritual  conjoined  (in  some  respects) 
with  the  literal  fulfilment  of  the  same  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  spi- 
ritual world.  That  which  is  manifested  is,  in  both  worlds,  the  Divine 
Truth :  but  in  the  spiritual  world  the  Divine  Truth  appears  in  per- 
son, for  the  performance  of  the  judgment ;  and  in  the  natural  world 
the  Divine  Truth  is  revealed  in  the  Word  for  the  restoration  of  the 
church.  These  tw^o  things  we  understand  to  form  a  one,  as  do  the 
sun  and  its  light :  for  of  the  Divine  Truth  in  the  Word,  and  thus  of 
the  Word  itself  even  in  its  literal  sense,  the  inmost  essence  is  the 
Divine  Truth  in  person,  that  is,  the  Lord  Himself;  just  as  the  sun  is 
the  inmost  essence  of  all  the  light  of  day ;  and  thus  plenarily,  it  is, 
according  to  our  ideas,  that  the  written  Word  is  divinely  inspired. 
Now  any  one  may  conceive  that  the  Divine  Truth  in  person  can 
only  be  visible  to  the  sight  of  angels  and  spirits,  and  not  to  the  natu- 
ral sight  of  men;  though  men  may  receive  in  their  understandings 
some  apprehension  of  the  Divine  Truth  contained  in  the  Word,  of 
which  the  Divine  Truth  in  persoa  is  the  only  Source.  According 
to  this  view  it  will  be  seen,  that  although  our  doctrines  deny  the 
possibility  or  the  Lord's  visible  appearance,  in  his  Glorified  Person, 
to  men  on  earth,  they  by  no  means  deny  that  his  visible  appearance 
would  attend  the  performance  of  the  Last  Judgment.  It  is  this  ap- 
pearance which  is  spoken  of  in  Acts  i.  10,  11 ;  which  passage  at 
once  teaches,  what  it  is  often  cited  to  prove,  that  at  the  Lord's  com- 
ing to  judgment  he  would  visibly  appear,  and,  what  is  as  generally 
overlooked,  that  his  appearance  would  not  be  visible  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  world;  in  general.  After  relating  the  Lord's  ascension 
in  the  presence  of  the  apostles,  and  saying  that  "  a  cloud  received 
him  out  of  their  sight,"  it  is  added,  "  And  while  they  looked  sted- 
fastly  toward  heaven  as  he  went  up,  behold,  two  men  stood  by  them 
in  white  apparel;  which  also  said.  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand 
ye  gazing  up  into  heaven  .'  This  same  Jesus,  which  is  taken  up  from 
you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come,  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  him 
go  into  heaven."  Now  if  the  coming  of  the  Lord  to  judgment  is  to 
be  in  like  manner  as  his  ascension,  it  cannot  be  visible  to  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  natural  world ;  for  none  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  natu- 
ral world  beheld  his  ascension,  except  the  eleven  apostles  ;  and 
these  did  not  see  it  with  the  eyes  of  their  body  (see  above,  p.  13,  14,) 
but  by  that  of  their  spiril  ;  in  the  rr-anner  that,  according  to  what 
was  shewn  above  (p.  .54,  &c.  note.)  the  ascension  of  Elijah  was  seen 
7# 


^9  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

particular  or  to  general  churches;"  if  it  has  been  proved 
that  some  of  the  occasions  in  regard  to  which  such  con- 
vulsions of  nature  arc  announced  have  undeniably  pass- 
ed by,  without  any  such  outward  catastrophe  resulting; 
if  it  has  thus  been  proved  that  the  destruction  of  the 
world  and  of  the  material  universe  cannot,  with  any  de- 
gree of  probability,  be  inferred  from  the  use  of  such  im- 
ages in  the  prophetic  style  of  Scripture:  then,  again, 
has  it  already  been  proved  to  be  at  least  in  the  highest 
degree  probable,  that  the  common  mode  of  expecting 
the  Last  Judgment  is  altogether  erroneous.  The  ex- 
pected consequences  of  such  a  judgment  will  not,  we  see, 
ensue:  the  world  will  not,  as  far  as  can  be  gathered 
from  the  Scriptures,  be  consumed;  still  less  will  the 
whole  visible  creation, — the  countless  stars,  which  we 
know  to  Ue  other  suns,  each  the  centre  to  a  system  of 
earths, — be  hurled  into  ruin, (monstrous  idea!)  to  pun- 
ish the  iniquity  of  this  little  globe.  Yet  such  must  be 
the  fact,  if  the  judgment  istobe  performed,  as  expected, 
within  tlie  precincts  of  nature:  again  then  are  we  dri- 
ven out  of  nature  to  look  for  it,  and  compelled  to  ac- 
hy Elisha;  hence,  as  Elisha  beheld,  together  with  his  ascending 
master,  a  chariot  and  horses  of  fire,  so  did  the  apostles,  when  viewing 
the  ascension  of  their  Lord,  behold  also  two  angels;  just  as,  at  his 
transfiguration,  they  had  seen  with  him  Moses  and  Elias;  all  which 
were  spiritual  beings  and  existences,  that  could  not  possibly  be  be- 
holden with  the  eyes  of  the  body.  "  In  like  manner,"  then,  the 
coming  of  the  Lord  in  person  to  judgment,  could  not  be  seen  by  any 
inhabitant  of  the  earth,  unless  the  eyes  of  his  spirit  were  miracu- 
lously opened  for  the  purpose  :  thus  the  declaration,  that  he  should 
"  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven,"  can 
only  relate,  in  its  literal  sense,  to  his  appearance  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  spiritual  world  :  and  thus  it  was  them  only  that  he  was  to 
come  again  to  judge.  For  the  distinct  apprehension  of  this,  it  may 
be  necessary  to  add,  that  the  Lord,  when  his  Humanity  was  fully 
glorified,  ascended  above  all  the  heavens,  into  the  highest  or  inmost 
of  all  things;  that  the  scene  of  the  judgment,  as  will  be  seen  pre- 
sently, is  an  intermediate  region  of  the  spiritual  world,  between 
heaven  and  hell,  appropriated  to  the  first  reception  of  departed  spirits  ; 
and  that  the  judgment  is  effected  by  his  exhibiting  himself  present, 
in  a  peculiar  manner,  in  the  lowest  parts  of  heaven,  in  doing  which 
he  is  said  to  descend,  though  he  is  not  the  less  present  in  his  su- 
preme residence  than  before.  For  space  in  the  spiritual  world, 
which  is  not  formed  of  matter,  is  not  fixed,  but  is  an  appearance  de- 
pending upon  the  states  of  those  who  are  there  :  and  in  no  degree 
can  snace  limit  the  presence  of  the  Onrinipre=eot  God 


THE    LAST  JUDGMENT.  79 

knowledge  that  the  destined  scene  of  its  performance 
was  not  the  natural  but  the   spiritual  world.* 

*  We  have  seen  in  the  note  above,  p.  67,  kc.  that  Mr  Beaumont 
is  quite  appalled  at  the  idea  of  the  endless  duration  of  the  world, 
and  its  shocking  consequence,  as  he  seems  to  think  it,  that  "  then 
there  must  be  an  everlasting  propagation  of  mankind."  Few  be- 
sides, I  apprehend,  will  think  the  idea  shocking,  but  most,  on  the 
contrary,  must  regard  it  as  grand  and  glorious  ;  yet  inany,  perhaps, 
may  feel  surprised  at  its  novelty ;  for  the  belief  that  the  world  is  to 
he  destroyed  is  one  of  the  earliest  prejudices  with  which  the  mind  is 
imbued  ;  and  few  ever  think  of  afterwards  calling  it  under  the  scru- 
tiny of  the  maturer  judgment.  Yet  the  future  perpetual  duration  of 
the  world  appears  to  admit  of  proof,  from  reason  and  Scripture,  that 
falls  little  short  of  demonstration  :  a  sketch  of  some  parts  of  the  evi- 
dence shall  be  here  subjoined. 

It  has  been  shewn  in  the  note  above,  p.  16,  &.c.  that  tlie  passages 
of  Scripture  which  seem  to  speak  of  the  destruction  of  the  world, 
cannot  have  any  such  signification  ;  and  that  this  is  now  with  respect 
to  most  of  them,  admitted  by  the  learned  in  general.  But  the  single 
circumstance,  that  the  destruction  of  the  world  should  be  attended, 
as  affirmed  in  most  of  the  prophecies  which  appear  to  speak  of  it, 
with  the  falling  of  the  stars  from  heaven,  seems  alone  sufficient  to 
convince  the  reader,  that  the  dissolution  of  nature  is  not  the  thing 
intended.  Tliis  idea  evidently  treats  the  stars  as  if  they  were  in  re- 
ality, what  they  appear  to  the  unassisted  senses,  mere  subordinate 
appendages  to  this  globe  of  ours,  performing  no  other  use  in  the  crea- 
tion than  that  which  they  perform  to  us.  The  Scriptures  assume 
this  idea,  not  for  the  purpose  of  affirming  it  to  be  the  fact,  but  be- 
cause this  is  sufficient  to  be  the  basis  of  that  spiritual  instruction 
which  alone  the  Scriptures  have  for  their  object,  and  because,  when 
they  mention  the  stars,  the  stars  of  the  firmament  are  never  meant : 
but  when  we  rise  from  the  seeming  tu  the  real  nature  of  the  stars  of 
the  firmament,  we  clearly  see  that  it  cannot  be  of  them  that  the  Scrip- 
ture speaks,  when  it  says  the  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven.  They 
cannot  fall  from  heaven  but  by  coming  down  to  the  earth,  as  describ- 
ed in  the  verses  cited  above  from  Pomfret.  Any  other  mode  of 
falling  might  as  well  be  called  rising  ;  since  it  would  only  be  a  mo- 
tion from  one  part  of  the  visible  heavens  to  another,  which,  if  it  caus- 
ed them  to  set  to  one  hemisphere  of  the  globe,  would  cause  them  to 
rise  to  the  opposite  hemisphere  :  accordingly,  that  they  are  to  fall  io 
the  ground,  is  the  idea  always  attached  to  the  expression  by  the  sim- 
ple, according  to  whose  ideas  of  natural  things  the  Word  of  God,  in 
its  letter,  is  uniformly  written.  While  the  world  was  believed  to  be 
the  largest  body  in  the  universe,  around  which,  as  their  centre  tlie 
sun  and  all  the  stars  moved,  the  practicability  of  such  a  falling  of 
the  heavenly  bodies  might  easily  be  imagined.  But  since  the  ad- 
vancement of  science  has  dispelled  this  illusion;  since  it  is  known 
that  the  earth  is  but  a  mere  speck  in  comparison  with  the  sun,  whilst 
the  millions  of  stars  which  the  telescope  discovers  are  other  suns,  all 
thousands  of  times  laraer  than  the  earth ;  it  becomes  impossible  to 
im?»einc  fo^  a  moment,  tint  these  cnorinous  bodies  can  ever  come 
tumbling  from  the  sky,  and  drop  upon  the  surface  of  thjs  atom  of  a 


80  THE    LAST   JUDGMENT. 

That  part  of  our  first  proposition,  which  affirms, 
"that  the  General  Judgment  announced  in  Scripture  as 

globe.  Certainly,  then,  it  is  impossible,  when  the  Scripture  speaks 
of  the  falling  of  the  stars,  that  the  stars  of  the  firmament  can  be  in- 
tended :  consequently,  the  mention  of  such  convulsions  cannot  be 
intended  to  aiiirm  the  destruction  of  the  world  and  of  the  universe. 

The  common  reader  of  the  Scriptures  takes  his  expectation  of  the 
world's  coming  to  an  end,  in  great  part,  from  the  disciples'  request 
of  the  Lord,  "  Tell  us  when  shall  these  things  be  ?  and  what  shall 
be  the  sign  of  thy  coming  and  oi  the  end  of  the  world?'"  (Mat.  xxiv. 
3.)  The  word,  however,  here  translated  "  the  world,"  is  literal- 
ly "  the  age,"  and  is  a  term  applied  to  express  the  whole  continuance 
of  any  order  of  things.  But  the  Lord,  in  his  answer,  uses  expres- 
sions, which  decidedly  demonstrate,  that  his  coming  to  judgment 
was  not  to  be  accompanied  with  the  end  of  the  world,  but  that,  after 
the  judgment,  the  world  was  to  remain  as  stable  as  ever,  and  replen- 
ished with  inhabitants.  For  he  says,  to  illustrate  the  discrimination 
which  would  be  used  in  the  execution  of  the  judgment,  "  Then  two 
shall  be  in  the  field  ;  the  one  shall  be  taken  and  the  other  left.  Two 
women  shall  be  grinding  at  the  mill ;  the  one  shall  be  taken  and  the 
other /<?/r."  (Ver.  40,  41.)  But  if  the  world  were  to  perish  under 
their  feet,  how  could  any  be  left .'  When  he  speaks  of  some  who, 
after  the  judgment,  should  be  left  in  the  world;  and  left  too,  it  ap- 
pears, at  their  usual  occupations;  how  can  it  be  supposed  that  the 
world  is  to  be  destroyed  ?  How  unmeaning  would  it  be  to  speak  of 
persons  being  left,  laboring  in  the  field  or  grinding  in  the  mill,  if  the 
world,  with  all  its  mills  and  fields,  were  to  be  sunk  in  annihilation ! 
Nor  can  this  proof  be  evaded  by  saying,  that  it  only  relates  to  those 
who  were  captured  or  who  escaped  at  the  siege  of  Jerusalem :  for 
though  some  parts  of  the  prophecy  had  an  imperfect  and  typical  ful- 
filment at  the  seige  of  Jerusalem,  it  is  fully  evident,  and  is  general- 
ly acknowledged,  that  its  main  and  final  reference  is  to  the  Second 
Coming  of  the  Lord  and  the  Last  Judgment:  if  then  some  of  the 
things  which  had  a  typical  fulfilment  at  the  seige  of  Jerusalem  were 
to  have  their  final  fulfilment  at  the  time  of  the  Last  Judgment,  how 
arbitrary  and  palpably  forced  is  the  interpretation,  which  would  limit 
others  of  the  same  series  of  circumstances  to  the  seige  of  Jerusalem 
only  ! 

But  that  the  biblical  texts  which  seem  to  speak  of  the  destruction 
of  the  world  cannot  mean  any  such  thing,  is  also  evident  from  this 
circumstance:  that  there  are  many  others  which  alfirm  the  direct 
contrary.  These  I  will  here  subjoin,  with  some  remarks  (slightly 
altered^,  from  an  article  furnished  by  me,  many  years  ago,  to  "  the 
Intellectual  Repository  for  the  New  Church,"  Vol.  i.  (first  series) 
p.  474,  &c. — "'  One  generation  passeth  away,  and  another  genera- 
tion cometh  ;  but  the  earth  abidethfor  ever '  (Eccl.  i.  4) :  '  He  build- 
eth  his  sanctuary  like  high  places,  like  the  earth  v^'hichhe  hath  estab- 
lished for  ever'  (Ps.  Ixxviii.  69.)  'Once  have  I  sworn  by  my  holi- 
ness, that  I  will  not  lie  unto  David:  his  seed  shall  endure  for  ever, 
and  his  throne  OS  f/»e  srm  before  me;  it  shall  be  established /orecer 
as  the  moon'  (Ps.  Ixxxlx.  35,  .36,  .37  )  '  Who  laid  the  foundations 
of  the  earth,  that  it  should  not  be  removed  for  ever"  (Ps.  civ.  5.) 


THE    LAST   JUDGMENT.  81 

to  be  performed  at  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord,  was 
not  to  take  place  in  the  natural  world,"  may  now,  it  is 
hoped  have  been  proved  to   the  satisfaction  of  the  re- 

•  They  that  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be  as  mount  Zion,  which  cannot 
be  removed,  but  abidcth  for  ever'  (cxxv.  1).     And  in  Ps.  cxlviii., 
after  calling  on  all  created  things,  and  the  sun  and  moon  among  the 
rest,  to  praise  the  Lord,  the  inspired  writer  adds  (ver.  6),  '  He  halh  al- 
so established  them  for  ever  and  ever  ;  he  hath  made  a  decree  which 
cannot  j)ass.' — The  eternal  duration  of  the  world  is  as  expressly  as- 
serted in  these  passages,  as  its  destruction  is  in  any  others  :  thus  the 
Scripture,  in  its  literal  sense,  proves  both  sides  of  the  question  ;  con- 
sequently, itdoes  not  prove  either.   One  of  the  classes  of  passages  must 
be   intended  to  be  understood  otherwise  than  the  letter  expresses; 
which,  must  be  decided  by  other  considerations.     We  are  at  liberty 
therefore  either  to  believe  one  proposition  or  the  other,  as  appears  most 
consonant  to  reason. — The  reasons  then  which  induce  me  to  believe 
that  the  world  will  not  be  destroyed,  but  will  continue  to  supply  new 
inhabitants  to  the  eternal  world  for  ever,  are  principally  derived  from 
considering  the  true   nature  and  attributes  of  the   Lord  our  God. — 
The  very  essence  of  the  Creator  is  pure  Divine  Love  (1  John  iv.  8, 
16).     \Yhat  was  the  cause  from  which  we  w^ere  created?  Divine 
Love.     What  was  the  cause  from  which  we  were  redeemed  .'  Divine 
Love. — When  from  his  Divine  Love  the  Lord  created  the  universe, 
the  end  he  proposed  was,  the  production  of  a  race  of  rational  beings 
capable  of  enjoying  his  divine  mercies,  out  of  whom  he  might  form 
an  angelic  heaven,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  might  himself  eternally 
reside,  and  communicate  an  eternally  increasing  felicity  to  an  eter- 
nally increasing  multitude  of  free  recipient  spirits  :    nor  does  the 
perdition  of  a  part  by  their  own  fault,  afford  any  argument  against 
the  design.     If  then  these  were  the  ends  intended  by  our  Omnipo- 
tent Maker  in  the  creation  of  the  world,  what  sort  of  ends  could  he 
intend  in  its  destruction  r  None  but  such  as  are  as  opposite  to  Divine 
Love,  as  destruction  is  opposite  to  creation,  as  death  is  opposite  to 
life.     To   commence   destroyer, — to    become    Apollyon, — he    must 
change  his  nature,  and  cease  to  be  Jehovah.     He  must  cease  to 
take  pleasure  in  seeing  happy  subjects  added  to  his  kingdom.     The 
streams  of  his  goodness  must  suddenly  stop  in  their  course.     His 
life-giving  energies  must  suddenly  be  exhausted.     He  must  cease 
to   be    infinite    in  power,   he  must  cease   to  be   infinite   in   love. 
Judge  then  which  sentiment  does  most  honor  to  God ;  that  which 
represents  him  as  a  fickle  destroyer,  or  that  which  legards  him 
as    an   immutable   preserver.     A    case   may   indeed   be    imagined, 
in  which  the  world   would  inevitably  perish,  without    the  catas- 
trophe being  at  all  imputable  to  the  divine  will  or  agency  :   but 
this  could  only  happen  by  the  total  extinction  of  all  remains  of  a 
church,  and  the  extirpation  of  every  principle  of  good  from  the 
hearts  of  men  ;  which,  rendering  it  impossible  for  the  heavenly  in- 
fluences to  find  admission   any  longer,  and  wholly  intercepting  the 
connexion  between  the  creature  and  the  life-giving  Creator,  would 
cause  the  polluted  race  to  sink  in  death,  and  the  orb  they  inhabited 
to  fall  to  nothing.     But  though,  so  long  as  man  continues  to  enjoy 
free-will  and  to  be  able  to  abuse  it,  such  a  catastrophe  must  be  ad- 
mitted to  be  possible,  yet  it  never  can  be  probable,  so  long  as  all  the 
energies  of  Providence  are  on  the  alert  to  prevent  its  occurrence  : 


82  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

fleeting  mind;  for  we  have  seen,  as  proposod,  '•  that  the 
circumstances  announced  in  prophecy  as  being  to  at- 
tend it,  are  such  as  cannot  be  intended  to  be  literally 

and,  if  we  may  give  credit  lo  the  Divine  Foreknowledge,  we  may 
rest  assured  that,  in  this  glohe,  it  will  never  take  place  ;  much  less, 
in  the  whole  visible  universe.  For  it  is  abundantly  declared  in  the 
Word,  that  a  glorious  church  shall  here  be  finally  raised  up,  which 
shall  never  come  to  an  end  :  consequently,  the  globe  which  is  to 
afford  to  this  church  its  ultimate  seat  and  basis,  must  be  of  equal  du- 
ration.— '  In  the  days  of  these  kings  shall  the  God  of  heaven  set  up 
a  kingdom  lohich  shall  yiever  he  destroyed:  and  the  kingdom  shall 
not  be  left  to  other  people,  but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume 
all  these  kingdoms,  and  it  shall  staivd  for  ever.'  (Dan. 
ii.  44.)" 

To  this  popular  statement  of  arguments  against  the  expected  de- 
struction of  the  world,  I  will  add  an  extract  from  Swedenborg,  in 
which  he  opens  the  deep  philosophical  grounds  of  the  necessity  for 
the  world's  continuance  in  existence,  in  so  clear  a  manner,  as  must, 
I  should  think,  to  every  one  who  loves  to  look  beyond  the  mere  sur- 
face of  things,  afford  both  conviction  and  delight.  To  prove  that  the 
procreation  of  the  human  race  will  never  cease,  he  lays  down  and 
illustrates  these  six  propositions.  "  I.  That  the  human  race  is  the 
basis  upon  which  lieaven  is  founded.  II.  That  the  human  race  is 
the  seminary  of  heaven.  III.  That  the  extent  of  heaven  designed 
for  angels  is  so  imm<^nse,  that  it  cannot  be  filled  to  eternity.  IV. 
That  they  of  whom  heaven  consists,  are,  as  yet,  respectively  but 
few.  V,  That  the  perfection  of  heaven  increases  according  to  the 
number  of  its  inhabitants.  VI.  That  every  divine  work  has  respect 
to  what  is  infinite  and  eternal." — In  illustrating  the  first  proposition 
he  makes  these  remarks  : 

"That  the  human  race  is  the  ba.^i-  'ipon  which  heaven  is  found- 
ed, follows  from  this  circumstance  :  ihat  man  was  the  last  object 
created ;  and  that  which  is  created  last,  is  the  basis  of  all  that  pre- 
cede it.  Creation  began  from  things  supreme  or  inmost,  because 
from  what  is  Divine,  and  proceeded  to  things  ultimate  or  extreme, 
and  then  it  first  came  into  subsistence.  The  ultimate  [last  or  lowest] 
part  of  creation,  is  the  natural  universe,  in  which  is  the  terraqueous 
globe  with  all  its  contents.  When  these  works  were  produced,  then 
man  was  created,  and  into  him  were  collated  all  things  of  Divine 
Order  from  first  to  last:  into  his  inmost  parts  were  collated  those 
things  which  are  in  the  first  principles  of  that  order,  and  into  his  last 
[or  ultimate]  parts  those  which  are  in  the  last  [or  ultimate]  princi- 
ples of  that  order.  Thus  man  was  made  divine  order  in  a  substan- 
tial form.  Hence  all  things  that  are  in  or  with  man,  are  either  from 
heaven  or  from  the  world  ;  from  heaven  all  things  belonging  to  his 
mind,  and  from  the  world  all  things  belonging  to  his  body  :  for  the 
things  of  heaven  flow  into  his  thoughts  and  affections,  and  pioduce 
them,  according  as  themselves  are  received  by  his  spirit;  and  the 
things  of  the  world  flow  into  his  sensations  and  corporeal  pleasures, 
and  produce  them,  according  as  themselves  are  received  by  his  body, 
but  in  an  accommodated  manner,  according  to  their  agreement  with 
the  thoughts  and  affections  of  his  spirit. — Such  being  the  order  of 
creation,  it  may  be  evident,  that  there  is  such  an  inseparable  con- 


THE    LAST   JUDGMENT.  83 

understood,  and,  some  of  them,  such  as  are  impossible 
in  the  nature  of  things."  The  other  part  of  the  propo- 
sition, "  that  it  was  to  be  performed  in  the  spiritual 
world,"  follows  then  of  course,  as  also  has  been  seen. 
This  however  may  be  confirmed  by  other  considerations. 
What  then  if  it  should  be  true,  that  although  the  Ge- 
neral Judgment  predicted  in  the  New  Testament  is  pro- 
perly called  the  Last  Judgment,  because  it  is  the  last 
General  Judgment  ever  to  be  performed  on  the  natives 
of  this  earth,  it  is  not  the  first  such  Judgment  ever  per- 
formed (as,  indeed  its  very  name  seems  to  imply;)  but, 

nexion  of  all  things  belonging  to  that  order,  from  the  first  to  the  last, 
that,  viewed  together,  they  constitute  a  one,  in  which  that  which  is 
prior  cannot  be  separated  from  that  which  is  posterior,  as  the  cause 
cannot  be  separated  from  its  effect :  consequently,  the  spiritual  world 
cannot  be  separated  from  the  natural  world,  nor  this  from  that;  and 
thus  the  angelic  heaven  cannot  be  separated  from  the  human  race, 
nor  t!ie  human  race  from  the  angelic  heaven;  wherefore  it  is  pro- 
vided by  the  Lord,  that  they  should  be  mutually  useful  to  each  other, 
the  angelic  heaven  to  the  human  race,  and  the  human  race  to  the 
angelic  heaven.  Hence  the  angelic  abodes  are  indeed  in  heaven, 
separate,  as  to  sight,  from  the  abodes  of  men,  but  still  they  are  with 
man,  in  his  affections  of  goodness  and  truth."  This  tlie  author  con- 
firms by  several  texts  of  Scripture,  and  by  various  remarks  ;  after 
which  he  proceeds  to  say,  "  Hence  it  is  evident,  that  there  is  such 
a  connexion  between  the  angelic  heaven  and  the  human  race,  as 
that  the  one  subsists  from  the  other ;  and  that  the  angelic  heaven 
without  the  human  race  would  be  in  the  situation  of  a  house  without 
a  foundation,  for  heaven  terminates  in  the  human  race,  and  reposes 
on  it.  The  case  in  this  respect  resembles  that  of  man  individually  : 
his  spiritual  things,  which  are  those  of  his  thought  and  will,  flow 
into  his  natural  things,  which  are  those  of  his  sensations  and  actions, 
and  there  terminate  and  subsist.  Did  not  man  possess  the  latter 
also ;  or  were  he  destitute  of  these  bounds  or  ultimates,  his  spiritual 
things  which  are  those  of  the  thoughts  and  affections  of  his  spirit, 
would  flow  off,  as  things  without  a  termination  or  without  a  bottom. 
The  cise  is  similar  when  man  passes  out  of  the  natural  world  into 
the  spiritual,  which  takes  place  when  he  dies :  being  then  a  spirit, 
he  no  longer  subsists  upon  his  own  individual  basis,  but  upon  the 
common  basis,  which  is  the  human  race. — Hence  it  may  appear, 
that  the  human  race  and  the  angeUc  heaven  form  a  on^,  and  owe 
their  subsistence,  mutually  and  reciprocally,  to  each  other;  where- 
fore the  one  cannot  be  taken  away  from  the  other."  (Last  Judg- 
ment, n.  9.) 

I  know  not  how  the  above  extract  may  recommend  itself  to  the 
reader;  but  to  me  it  appears  to  contain  more  solid  knowledge  re- 
specting the  nature  of  man  and  the  economy  of  the  universe  than  is 
to  be  found  in  any  other  writer;  and  to  be  quite  irrefutable.  If  so, 
the  notion  of  the  conflagration  of  the  world  and  of  the  universe  must 
be  utterly  chimerical. 


ft4  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

on  the  contrary,  two  or  three  General  Judgments  have 
taken  place  before?  If  the  Last  Judgment  was  not 
to  be  performed  at  the  end  of  the  world,  but  at  the 
end  of  the  age;  and  if  "the  age"  denotes  the  whole 
duration  of  a  certain  order  of  things  as  regards  the 
dispensations  of  God  to  man  ;  then,  as  it  is  certain 
that  there  have  been,  since  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
several  such  ages  and  dispensations,  it  will  be  rea- 
sonable to  conclude,  that  the  end  of  each  of  the  for- 
mer of  them,  like  the  end  of  the  last,  was  attended 
with  a  General  Judgment  upon  those  who  had  lived  un- 
der it.  Accordingly,  the  Scripture  clearly  teaches,  how 
much  soever  its  testimony  upon  this  subject  may  gene- 
rally have  been  overlooked,  that  such  is  the  fact.  As 
it  prophetically  announces  that  the  last  age  and  dispen- 
sation ever  to  come  to  its  end  or  consummation  would 
then  be  attended  with  a  General  Judgment,  so  does  it 
historically  record,  that  each  of  the  former  of  such  ages 
and  dispensations  was  attended  at  its  end  by  a  General 
Judgment.  Its  testimony  to  this  effect,  therefore,  we 
will  briefly  notice. 

That  from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  the  specific 
connexion  of  its  inhabitants  with  their  Divine  Parent 
has  been  regulated  by  four  different  dispensations,  and 
they  have  been  bound  to  him  by  four  distinct  covenants, 
the  human  subjects  of  which  may  be  regarded  as  com- 
posing four  general  churches,  is  universally  known. 
Adam  and  his  posterity  to  the  flood,  lived  under  one  dis- 
pensation: God  then  "  established  his  covenant  with 
Noah  and  his  seed  after  him:"*  another  covenant  was 
made  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  their  de- 
scendants, of  which  the  laws  were  given  by  Moses:  and 
finally,  "  grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ. "f  It 
is  also  known,  that  the  three  first  of  these  dispensations 
were  entirely  corrupted,  and  the  covenants  broken,  by 
those  to  whom  they  were  given,  among  whom  the 
churches  thus  formed  in  consequence  perished:  and  that 
the  case  would  be  the  same  with  the  fourth  dispensation 
and  covenant,  is  predicted  through  a  great  part  of  the 
Apocalypse,  and  by  the  Lord  in  person  in  Matt,  xxiv., 
and,  summarily,  in  that  question  of  his  which  supposes 

*  Gen.  ix.  9.  f  John  i.  18. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  85 

a  negative  answer,  "  Nevertheless,  when  the  Son  of  man 
Cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth?"*  The  language 
in  which  the  judgment  upon  the  three  former  of  these 
churches  is  described  being  of  the  same  symbolic  kind 
as  that  in  which  the  judgment  upon  the  last  is  predicted, 
it  has  not  been  generally  understood  to  relate  to  any 
transaction  in  the  spiritual  world,  but  has  been  confined 
to  the  calamities  with  which,  in  the  natural  world,  the 
apostate  members  of  those  churches  were  at  length 
overtaken;  and  yet,  that  the  descriptions  refer  to  judg- 
ments in  the  spiritual  world  also,  may  easily  be  inferred. 
Thus,  as  has  already  been  seen,  the  passing  away  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  convulsions  in  the  heavenly  bo- 
dies equivalent  thereto,  are  constantly  predicated  in  re- 
ference to  the  Last  Judgment,  and  to  the  coming  of  the 
Lord  for  its  performance:  and  these  are  predicated,  not 
only  in  reference  to  the  judgment  which  the  Christian 
world  is  still  expecting,  but  to  the  judgments  on  each  of 
the  former  churches.  The  Apostle  Peter,  for  instance, 
informs  us,  that  the  same  sort  of  catastrophe  as  is  de- 
scribed by  the  prophets  under  the  figure  of  the  conflagra- 
tion of  heaven  and  earth,  is  described  by  Moses  under 
the  figure  of  a  flood :  he  says,  '^  By  the  word  of  God  the 
heavens  were  of  old,  and  the  earth,  standing  out  of  the 
water,  and  in  the  water;  whereby  the  world  that  then 
was,  being  overflowed  by  water,  perished:  but  the  hea- 
vens and  the  earth  which  are  now,  by  the  same  word, 
are  kept  in  store,  reserved  unto  fire,  against  the  day  of 
judgment  and  perdition  of  ungodly  men."f  We  find 
then,  that  as  the  destruction  of  heaven  and  earth  by  fire 
is  one  of  the  forms  by  which  the  Last  General  Judgment 
is  described,  so  the  destruction  of  the  world  that  then 
was  by  a  flood  is  the  form  by  which  the  General  Judg- 
ment upon  the  Adamic  Church  is  described:  if  then  the 
Last  General  Judgment  was  not  to  consist  solely,  nor  at 
all,  in  the  conflagration  of  the  visible  universe,  but  in  a 
judgment  upon  those  who  had  passed  out  of  the  natural 
into  the  spiritual  world,  the  judgment  upon  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Adamic  Church  did  not  consist  solely,  and 
probably  not  at  all,J  in  a  flood  of  material  waters,  but  in 

*  Luke  xviii.  8.  t  2  Pet.  iii  5,  6,  7. 

X  That  the  eleven  first  chapters  of  Genesis  do  not  contain  an  ex- 
act detail  of  natural  events,  but  a  history  of  the  spiritual  state  of 

3 


86  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

a  judgment  upon  those  who  had  passed  from  the  mate- 
rial into  the  spiritual  world. 

The  Noetic  cliurch  did  not  long  continue  as  one: 
"  in  the  days  of  Peleg  was  the  earth  divided,"*  and  be- 
ing scattered  at  Babel,  they  no  longer  continued  to  be 
*' of  one  language  and  of  one  speech  j""!" — that  is,  they 
divided  into  different  forms  of  worship  and  doctrine;  and 
all  the  ancient  nations  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament 
where  various  branches  of  this  church.  Hence  it  does 
not  appear  that  there  was  any  General  Judgment  upon 
the  whole  together,  till  the  Lord  came  into  the  world  and 
performed  thejudgment  on  the  Jewish  church;  which  it- 
self sprung  out  of  the  Noetic  church,  and  most  of  the 
constitutions  of  which,  as  is  well  known,  were  selected 
from  those  which  had  previously  been  in  use:  but  spe- 
cific judgments  upon  various  branches  of  it  are  mention- 
ed in  several  parts  of  the  Old  Testament.  Thus  Sodom 
was  destroyed  by  fire  from  heaven;  and  under  this  fact, 
performed  in  the  natural  world,  was  doubtless  repre- 
sented a  judgment  in  the  spiritual  world,  upon  all  of  the 
same  character  who  had  passed  into  that  world  by 
death. 

But,  not  to  dwell  upon  the  judgments  on  those  more 
ancient  churches;  it  will  be  sufficient  for  our  present 
argument  if  it  can  be  shewn,  that  the  Lord  himself  per- 
formed a  judgment,  while  in  the  world,  of  the  same  nature 
as  the  Last  Judgment,  which  he  then  also  prophetically 
declared  that  he  would,  at  his  Second  Coming,  accom- 
plish. To  such  a  judgment,  many  of  the  prophets  of  the 
Old  Testament  clearly  refer.  Their  predictions  re- 
specting the  Coming  of  the  Lord  into  the  world,  are  fre- 
quently connected  with  the  announcement  of  a  judg- 
ment then  to  be  performed  by  him.  They  even  repre- 
sent the  execution  of  such  a  judgment  as  inseparable 
from  that  work  of  redemption  which  all  acknowledge 
that  he  came  to  accomplish;  for  without  the  removal 
thereby  of  evil  spirits  from  the  immediate  influence 
which  they  then  exercised  upon  the  world,  there  could 

mankind  in  those  .iges,  couched  in  the  language  of  allegory,  beings 
the  only  style  in  use  among  the  people  whose  history  it  describes  ' 
and  that  literally  true  history  begins  with  the  account  of  Abraham' 
may  be  seen  in  "  the  Plenary  Inspiration." 

*  Gen.  X.  25.  t  Gen.  xi.  1. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  87 

have  been  no  salvation  for  the  human  race.*  But  do  we 
find,  in  the  New  Testament,  any  plain  intimation  that 
such  ajudgmenl  was  performed  accordingly  ^  This  ques- 
tion may  be  most  decidedly  answered  in  the  affirmative. 
The  ]Sew  Testament  repeatedly  notices  the  fulfilment 
of  predictions  in  which  the  coming  of  the  Lord  to  re- 
deem mankind  is  connected  with  the  execution  of  a  judg- 
ment: and  it  presents,  besides,  other  independent  tes- 

*  '•  Wait  ye  upon  me,  saith  the  Lord,  until  the  day  that  I  rise  up  to 
the  prey :  tor  my  determination  is  to  gather  the  nations,  that  I  may 
assemble  the  kingdoms,  to  pour  upon  them  mine  indignation,  even 
all  my  fierce  anger  :  for  all  the  earth  shall  be  devoured  with  the  fire 
of  my  jealousy.  For  then  will  I  turn  to  the  people  a  pure  language, 
that  they  may  all  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  serve  him  with 
one  consent.  "  (Zeph.  iii.  8.)  Here  is  a  plain  prediction  of  a  General 
Judgment,  described  with  the  symbolic  accoii'paniment  of  the  burn- 
ing of  the  earth,  as  immediately  to  precede  the  establishment  of  the 
Chrisiian  religion. — "  I  will  she^v  wonders  in  the  heavens  and  in  the 
earth,  blood,  and  fire,  and  pillars  of  smoke.  The  sun  shall  be  turn- 
ed into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood,  before  the  great  and 
terrible  day  of  the  Lord  come."  (Joel  ii.  30,  31.)  Here  is  a  descrip- 
tion of  a  day  of  judgment  with  the  usual  adjuncts  ;  and  this  prophe- 
cy is  declared  by  Peter  (Acts  ii.  16)  to  have  been  then  fulfilled. 
"  But  who  may  abide  the  day  of  his  coming,  and  who  shall  stand  when 
he  appeareth  ?  for  he  is  like  a  refiner's  fire,  and  like  fuller's  soap. — 
And  I  will  come  near  to  you  to  judgment. — For  behold  the  day  com- 
eth  that  shall  burn  as  an  oven;  and  all  the  proud,  yea,  and  all  that 
do  wickedly,  shall  be  as  stubble  :  and  the  day  that  cometh  shall  burn 
them  up,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  that  it  leave  them  neither  root  nor 
branch. — Behold  I  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  coming 
of  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord."  (Mai.  iii.  2,  5,  iv.  1,  5.) — 
Here  is  a  sutficicntly  plain  announcement  of  a  day  of  judgment,  in 
predictions  applied  by  the  evangelists,  and  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
to  himself  while  in  the  world. — "  For  he  cometh,  for  he  cometh  to 
judge  the  eartii :  he  shall  judge  the  world  with  righteousness,  and 
the  people  with  his  truth. — Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about 
him;  righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his  throne; 
his  lightnings  enlightened  the  world;  the  earth  saw  and  tre-abled  : 
the  hills  melted  like  wax  at  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  at  the  presence 
of  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth :  the  heavens  declare  his  righteous- 
ness, and  all  the  people  see  his  glory. — For  he  cometh  to  judge  the 
earth  :  v/ith  righteousness  shall  he  judge  the  world,  and  the  people 
with  equity."  (Ps.  xcvi.  13.  xcvii.  2  to  6,  xcviii.  9.)  A  work  of 
judgment  is  here  clearly  announced,  and  depicted  with  abundance  of 
the  appropriate  figures:  and  these  three  Psalms  plainly  treat  of  the 
Lord's  coming  into  the  world,  and  of  the  salvation  which,  by  his 
works  of  judgment,  he  would  procure  for  mankind.  Many  similar 
passages  might  be  adduced;  but  these  may  suffice  to  shew,  that,  ac- 
cording to  tibe  prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  advent  of  the 
Lord  in  the  flesh  was  to  be  accompanied  with  the  performance  oi'  a 
General  Judgment. 


88  THE    LAST    JUDGMEIS^T. 

timonies  to  the  same  truth.  Thus  when  John  the  Bap- 
tist announces  that  he  was  the  forerunner  of  one  who  was 
greater  than  himself,  he  speaks  also  of  him  whom  he 
preceded  as  coming  in  the  cliaracter  of  a  Judge:  *' He 
that  Cometh  after  me  is  mightier  than  I,  whose  shoes  I 
am  not  worthy  to  bear:  he  shall  baptize  you  with  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  with  fire:  whose  fan  is  in  his  hand,  and 
he  will  thoroughly  purge  his  floor,  and  gather  his  wheat 
into  the  garner;  but  he  will  burn  up  the  chaff  with  un- 
quenchable fire."*  What  plainer  description  of  a  Ge- 
neral Judgment  can  there  be  than  this?  It  is  in  fact 
described  under  nearly  the  same  images  as  the  Lord 
uses,  in  several  of  his  parables,  for  delineating  the  Last 
Judgment  generally  looked  for  by  Christians.  Thus  he 
concludes  the  parable  of  the  wheat  and  the  tares  with 
this  declaration:  ''  In  the  time  of  the  harvest,  I  will  say 
unto  the  reapers.  Gather  ye  together  first  the  tares,  and 
bind  them  in  bundles  to  burn  them:  but  gather  the  wheat 
into  my  barn."t  This  the  Divine  Speaker  himself  ex- 
plains to  be  a  figurative  description  of  the  Last  Judg- 
ment ptill  generally  expected:  '^  The  good  seed,"  he 
says,  ''  are  the  children  of  the  kingdom;  but  the  tares 
are  the  children  of  the  wicked  one: — the  harvest  is  the 
end  of  the  world  [in  the  original,  as  elsewhere,  the  con- 
siimmatkn  of  the  age]  : — as  therefore  the  tares  are  gath- 
ered and  burned  in  the  fire;  so  shall  it  be  at  the  end  of 
this  world.  The  Son  of  man  shall  send  forth  his  angels, 
and  they  shall  gather  out  of  his  kingdom  all  things  that 
offend,  and  them  which  do  iniquity,  and  shall  cast  them 
into  a  furnace  of  fire:  there  shall  be  wailing  and  gnash- 
ing of  teeth.  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as 
the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father. "J  Now  the 
only  difference  between  this  parable  and  the  saying 
above  quoted  of  John,  is,  that,  in  the  parable,  the  wick- 
ed are  compared  to  fares,  and  by  the  Baptist  to  chaff:  in 
other  respects,  the  figures  used  are  the  same.  In 
both,  the  good  are  compared  to  ivhcat:  m  both,  t'ac 
taking  of  the  good  into  heaven  is  called  the  gatiurinry 
of  the  ivhcat  into  the  Lord'^s  gcnier  or  hnrn:  in  both, 
the  casting  of  the  wicked  into  hell  is  called  burning  of 
the  chaffs  or  lares,  ivith  fire.  Jesus  says  that  this  work 
should  be  performed  at  the  consummation   of  the  age, 

*  Matt.  iii.  IJ,  12.         t  Ch.  xiii.  30.  ±  Yer.  38  to  43. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  89 

or  at  the  close  of  the  dispensation  of  divine  things  then 
commencing;  accordingly,  all  allow  that  the  parahle  re- 
lates to  the  Last  Judgment:  but  John  says  that  Jesus, 
of  whom  he  was  speaking,  had  his  fan  in  his  hand,  to 
make  the  requisite  separation,  then:  Is  it  not  then  de- 
monstrably evident,  that  just  such  a  judgment  as  the 
Scripture  predicts  at  what  is  commonly  called  the  end  of 
the  zDorld,  or  at  the  consummation  of  the  dispensation 
then  commencing,  is  affirmed  by  the  Scripture  to  have 
been  actually  wrought  while  the  Lord  was  in  the  world; 
— that  time  being  also  the  end  of  the  world,  or  the  consum- 
mation of  the  age,  to  the  Jewish  Church,  and  to  the 
whole  remains  of  the  Noetic  Church  likewise?  If  the 
Scripture  affirms  that  a  General  Judgment  was  to  be  per- 
formed by  the  Lord  at  his  second  coming  in  the  spirit, 
it  affirms  with  equal  positiveness  that  a  General  Judg- 
ment ivas  performed  at  his  first  coming  in  the  flesh. 
The  one  rests  upon  the  same  authority  as  the  other,  and 
if  we  deny  the  one  we  must  deny  them  both. 

But  not  only  does  John  the  Baptist  announce  that 
He  before  whom  he  was  sent  was  coming  to  perform  a 
work  of  judgment;  but  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  repeated- 
ly declares  the  same  thing:  "The  Father,"  saith  he, 
^'judgeth  no  man,  but  hath  committed  all  judgment  unto 
the  Son: — And  hath  given  him  authority  to  execute  judg- 
ment also,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  man."*  Is  this 
supposed  only  to  mean,  that  a  sort  of  judgment  was  then 
to  be  passed  upon  the  Jews  in  this  world,  the  destruc- 
tion of  whom,  as  a  nation,  did  speedily  follow.''  This  in- 
terpretation of  the  words  is  guarded  against  by  its  being 
added,"  Marvel  not  at  this;  for  the  hour  is  coming,  in 
the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall  hear  his  voice, 
and  shall  come  forth;  they  that  have  done  good  to  the 
resurrection  of  life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil  to  the 
resurrection  of  damnation."!  These  words  relate,  not 
to  any  resurrection  of  the  body,  but  to  certain  opera- 
tions, attendant  upon  the  judgment,  in  the  spiritual  world, 
which  he  was  then  about  to  perform,  while,  as  to  his 
natural  body,  he  was  yet  in  the  natural  world:  hence  he 
speaks  of  it  as  being  just  about  to  take  place — "  the 
hour  is  coming;" — and  to  prevent  any  from  imagining, 
nevertheless,  that  it  was  a  distant  judgment  of  which  he 

*  John  V.  22,  27.  t  Ver.  28,  29. 

8* 


90  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

was  speaking,  he  makes  the  declaration  more  exph'cit 
still  two  or  three  verses  previously:  for  he  there  says, 
"  Verily,  verily,  1  say  unto  you,  The  hour  is  coming 
and  noio  is,  when  the  dead  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the 
Son  of  God."*  Plainly  enough  then  the  whole  passage 
relates  to  a  judgment  he  was  then  about  performing: 
and  it  is  here  described,  in  such  figures  as  are  often 
used  when  this  subject  is  treated  of,  as  a  resurrection  of 
the  good  to  life  eternal,  and  of  the  v/icked  to  damnation. 
But  if  we  were  to  dwell  particularly  on  all  the  passages 
in  v/hich  the  Lord  himself  speaks  of  the  judgment  which 
he  was  engaged  in  performing  in  the  spiritual  world,  at  the 
same  time  that,  as  to  his  natural  humanity,  he  appeared  in 
the  world  of  nature,  this  discussion  would  be  protracted 
to  a  great  length:  I  will  therefore  only  mention,  very 
briefly,  one  or  two  more.  We  find  him  then,  in  another 
place,  saying, "  For  judgment  am  I  come  into  this 
world."!  And  again,  most  explicitly,  "  Now  is  the  judg- 
ment of  this  world:  now  shall  the  prince  of  this  world  be 
cast  out. "J  It  is  acknowledged  by  all,  that  by  the  prince 
of  this  world  is  in  Scripture  meant  the  devil.  Now  it  is 
very  remarkable,  that  a  casting  out  of  Satan  is  else- 
where spoken  of  when  the  subject  is  respecting  a  Gen- 
eral Judgment.  Thus,  in  reference  to  this  very  judgment 
performed  by  the  Lord  while  in  the  world,  the  prophet 
speaks  of  the  falling  of  Lucifer  from  heaven. §  To  the 
same  effect,  in  reference  to  the  Last  Judgment  generally 
believed  to  be  yet  future,  John  the  Revelator  declares,  that 
he  saw  a  great  dragon  cast  out  of  heaven ;  and  he  explains 
this  dragon  to  be  that  old  serpent,  called  the  devil  and  Sa- 
tan. ||  Just  in  the  same  manner  the  Lord  says  in  Luke, 
when  the  disciples  returned  and  told  him  that  even  the 
devils  were  subject  unto  them  through  his  name, "  I  beheld 
Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven. "IT  Evidently  then, 
the  circumstance  described  as  the  falling  of  Satan  from 
heaven,  is  a  thing  essentially  belonging  to  the  perform- 
ance of  a  General  Judgment.  Then  put  these  facts  to- 
gether. John  the  Revelator  says  that  such  an  occurrence 
would  take  place  «i //?e  last  judgment  of  all :  Isaiah  an- 
nounced that  it  would  take  place  at  the  judgment  to  be 
performed  by  the  Lord ivhile  in  the  world:  and  Jesus  him- 

*  Ver.  25.         t  Ch.  ix.  39.        t  Ch.  xii.  31.         §  Isa.  xiv.  12. 
11  Rev.  xii.  9.  ^  Luke  x.  18. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  91 

self  twice  declares,  that  it  did  then  actually  happen:  how 
then  is  it  possible  to  retain  any  doubt,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  was  actually  engaged  in  performing  a  judg- 
ment in  the  spiritual  world,  while,  as  to  his  assumed 
human  nature,  he  was  personally  present  in  this? 

Both  parts — the  latter  as  well  as  the  former, — of  our 
first  proposition,  may  now,  I  trust,  appear  sufficiently 
established; — namely,  That  the  General  Judgment  an- 
nounced in  Scripture  as  to  be  performed  at  the  Second 
Coming  of  the  Lord,  was  not  to  take  place  in  the  na- 
tural world,  as  commonly  supposed,  but  in  the  spiritual. 
If  the  Last  Judgment  announced  in  the  New  Testament 
be  not  the  only  General  Judgment  ever  accomplished  on 
the  natives  of  this  earth,  but,  on  the  contrary,  there  have 
been  two  or  three  such,  before ;  then,  doubtless,  this  would 
be  executed  in  the  same  manner  as  those.  It  is  certain 
that,  at  former  judgments,  particularly  at  the  most  indis- 
putable of  them,  that  performed  by  the  Lord  while  in 
the  world,  there  was  no  gathering  together,  in  this  world, 
of  all  who  had  previously  died,  no  appearing  of  the 
Judge  in  the  clouds,  and  no  destruction  of  the  globe  and 
of  the  visible  universe:  consequently,  neither  were  such 
events  to  occur  at  the  Last  Judgment  of  all.  All  former 
General  Judgments  were  executed  in  the  spiritual  world: 
consequently,  that  world  must  be  the  scene  of  the  Last 
Judgment  also. 

II.  Proceed  we  then  to  the  confirmation  of  our  second 
proposition, — That  the  Last  Judgment  has,  in  the  spir- 
itual world,  been  executed  accordingly. 

Here  I  am  to  endeavor  to  shew,  that,  independently 
of  the  assertions  of  Swedenborg,  there  are  various  con- 
siderations tending  to  evince,  that  the  Judgment  has 
been  accomplished. 

First,  be  it  observed,  that,  according  to  our  views, 
there  always  exists,  how  little  soever  men  in  general 
may  be  aware  of  it,  the  closest  communication  between 
the  spiritual  and  the  natural  worlds.  Man,  as  to  the 
interiors  of  his  mind,  is  a  spiritual  being,  and  in  constant 
connexion  with  his  like  in  the  spiritual  world;  though  of 
this  he  cannot,  except  in  very  extraordinary  cases,  be 
sensible,  while  his  spiritual  part  is  invested  with  a  na- 
tural covering,  which  is  the  seat  of  his  conscious  per- 
ceptions while  he  lives  on  earth.     This  is,  in  fact,  only 


92  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

a  different  way  of  stating  the  doctrine  generally  received 
among  Christians,  that  man  receives  influences  both  from 
heaven  and  hell:  and  how  can  it  be  otherwise,  if  the 
Apostolic  declarations  are  true,  that  angels  "  are  min- 
istering spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall 
be  heirs  of  salvation;"  and  that  "  the  devil,"  or  the  in- 
fernal powers  in  the  aggregate,  '^  goeth  about  as  a  roar- 
ing lion,  seeking  whom  he  shall  devour."  But  though 
the  springs  of  all  man's  thoughts  and  actions  are  thus 
either  in  heaven  or  in  hell,  his  most  immediate  unearthly 
associates  are  spirits  in  the  intermediate  state  or  region 
between  heaven  and  hell;  all  of  whom  belong,  indeed, 
either  to  the  heavenly  or  to  the  infernal  kingdom,  and 
are,  as  to  their  interiors,  either  angels  or  devils,  though, 
not  having  yet  entirely  put  ofl^  their  external  state,  they 
have  not  entered  into  their  final  abode.  Man  himself, 
as  to  the  interiors  of  his  mind,  is  a  spirit  of  this  kind; 
with  this  difference,  that  although  he  is  every  moment 
of  his  life  in  connexion,  according  to  the  nature  of  his 
ruling  inclinations,  with  heaven  or  with  hell,  he  is  not 
yet  irrevocably  bound  either  to  the  one  or  to  the  other: 
so  long  as  he  remains  here  his  ruling  love  may  be  chang- 
ed: and  thus  he  is  associated  as  to  his  internal  part  with 
spirits  of  both  classes,  and  is  not,  as  they  are,  incapable 
©faltering  his  inward  state. 

If  then  this  view  of  the  subject  be  correct  (and  that 
it  is  so,  will  probably  further  appear  in  the  sequel  of  this 
Appeal:  and  surely  it  is  a  view  that  is  highly  agreeable 
to  reason;)  if  man  be  thus  so  closely  connected  with  the 
inhabitants  of  the  spiritual  world,  particularly  with  those 
of  the  intermediate  region;  it  necessarily  follows  that  any 
great  change  in  the  state  of  that  world,  particularly  of 
the  intermediate  region,  must  make  also  an  extraor- 
dinary change  in  the  state  of  man  as  to  the  interiors  of 
his  mind,  and  induce  great  alterations  in  his  modes  of 
thinking.  It  may  also  be  expected  that  the  effect  of 
such  an  operation  in  the  spiritual  world  as  that  of  the 
General  Judgment,  must  be  felt  in  the  natural  world  also, 
and  that  judgments  answering  to  it  in  importance  would 
take  place  in  the  civil  affairs  of  the  world,  particularly 
among  the  nations  belonging  to  the  professing  church. 
If  it  be  true,  as  would  follow  from  the  above  statement, 
that  the  interior  causes  of  all  things  are  in  the  spiritual 


THE  LAST  JUDGMENT. 


93 


world,  it  will  follow,  that  the  performance  of  such  a  work 
as  the  Last  Judgment  there,  must,  sooner  or  later,  be 
marked  in  the  natural  world  also  with  corresponding 
effects. 

In  the  second  place,  I  would  observe,  that  the  con- 
clusion respecting  the  effects  in  the  natural  world  of 
the  judgment  in  the  spiritual  thus  arrived  at  theoreti- 
cally, has  been  practically  confirmed  in  all  former  in- 
stances. As  far  as  the  annals  of  mankind  enable  us  to  de- 
termine, never  was  a  judgment  performed  in  the  spiritual 
world,  but  corresponding  effects  resulted  in  the  natural 
world  also.  If  it  be  true,  as  generally  believed,  that 
the  last  posterity  of  the  Adamic  church  was  swallowed 
up  by  a  flood,  here  was  a  catastrophe  in  the  natural 
world  indeed:  and  if,  as  noticed  above,  there  is  reason  to 
conclude,  that  by  the  history  of  the  flood  is  not  meant  that 
a  flood  of  waters  really  overwhelmed  the  world,  there 
still  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  great  calamities,  of  which, 
in  a  figurative,  natural  sense,  a  flood  of  waters  is  an 
expressive  emblem,  did  overtake  the  abandoned  nations. 
So,  at  the  consummation  of  the  Noetic  and  establishment 
of  the  Israeli:  i.sh  church,  when  a  representative  coming 
of  the  Lord  was  exhibited  by  his  presence  in  the  cloudy 
pillar,  great  judgments  were  literally  executed  on  the 
Egyptians  and  the  Canaanites,  at  that  lime  the  principal 
nations  of  the  consummated  Noetic  chu  i;  as  had 
previously  been  executed,  soon  after  the  calling  of  Abra- 
ham, on  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  But  here  again  we  find 
our  most  unequivocal  example  in  the  judgments  that  fell 
upon  the  Jews.  We  have  seen  that  a  judgment  was  cer- 
tainly executed  by  the  Lord  in  the  spiritual  world  while 
he  abode  personally  here:  and  we  know  that,  some  time 
afterwards,  the  most  dreadful  calamities  overtook  the 
whole  Jewish  nation;  indeed,  the  whole  face  of  the 
world  was  soon  afterwards  entirely  changed.  We  may 
conclude  the  judgment  in  the  spiritual  world  to  have 
been  finished  at  the  Lord's  ascension:  and  thirty 
years  after  this  event,  the  troubles  broke  out  in  Judaea, 
which  issued  in  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the  deso- 
lation of  the  whole  country,  and  the  end  of  the  national 
existence  of  the  Jews.  It  is  to  be  expected,  that  the^ 
changes  in  the  natural  world,  which  is  the  world  of 
effects,  must  be  some  time  subsequent  to  the  changes 


94  THE  LAST  JUDGMENT. 

from  which  they  proceed  in  the  spiritual  world,  which 
is  the  world  of  causes:  and  from  this  example  it  would 
appear,  as  if  about  thirty  years  were  the  period,  in  which 
a  judgment  in  the  spiritual  world  begins  to  give  rise  to 
corresponding   judgments  in  the  world  of  nature. 

JVow  as  we  evidently  see,  that,  sooner  or  later,  such 
judgments  in  the  spiritual  world,  have,  in  all  former  in- 
stances, been  followed  with  great  troubles  in  the  natu- 
ral world,  we  may  reasonably  conclude,  that  the  per- 
formance in  the  spiritual  world  of  the  last  judgment  of 
all,  would,  in  due  time,  be  followed  by  the  usual  visita- 
tions in  this  scene  of  existence. 

Have  then  any  visitations  that  may  probably  be  sup- 
posed, by  their  magnitude  and  extraordinary  character 
to  have  had  such  an  origin,  been  experienced,  within 
the  last  half  century,  by  the  nations  of  Christendom  .'' 
for  to  them,  more  particularly,  as  forming  the  professing 
church,  must  such  judgments  belong.  Do  not  the  re- 
collections of  every  one  who  reads  this  question  immedi- 
ately rush  forward  with  an  affirmative  answer?  In  the 
wars,  and  other  dreadful  calamities,  which  began  with, 
and  rose  out  of,  the  French  revolution,  has  not  every 
serious  observer  of  passing  events  noted  features  very 
different  from  those  which  attended  the  wars  and  convul- 
sions of  former  times, — of  all  times  later  than  the  first 
full  establishment  of  Christianity  ?  AVill  he  not  allow 
them  to  have  been  such  as  are  fully  commensurate  with 
the  ideas  suggested  by  the  "  distress  of  nations  and 
perplexity,  causing  men's  hearts  to  fail  them  for  fear," 
announced  by  the  Lord  as  among  the  signs  of  his  Sec- 
ond Coming  ?  which  coming,  we  have  seen,  in  the  natural 
world,  is  a  consequence  of  the  judgment  performed  in 
the  spiritual.  There  was  one  feature  in  the  late  con- 
tests so  entirely  peculiar,  that  it  well  deserves  to  be  par- 
ticularly noted;  and  that  is,  that  the  war  at  last  raged  in 
every  nation  on  the  whole  face  of  the  globe  that  bears 
the  Christian  name;  a  circumstance  which  never  occur- 
red before  since  Christianity  began.  IVot  only  did 
Europe,  from  west  to  east,  from  north  to  south- — from 
France  to  Russia,  and  from  Naples  to  Sweden, —  heave 
the  billows  of  her  population  against  each  other  in  more 
enormous  masses  than  were  ever  before  assembled  for 
the  purpose  of  mutual  destruction;    but  the  American 


THE  LAST  JUDGMENT.  95 

world,  where  the  religion  of  Europe  had  been  trans- 
planted, was  equally  seized  with  the  destroying  mania; 
till  from  one  extremity  to  the  other  of  that  vast  conti- 
nent,— from  Canada  to  Chili, —  the  flames  of  war  raged 
with  as  great  violence,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
the  people,  as  in  the  western  hemisphere.  In  Asia  and 
Africa  too,  wherever  Christians  had  planted  colonics, 
the  demons  of  carnage  were  let  loose;  whilst,  likewise, 
the  waters  of  every  sea  were  swelled  with  human  blood, 
poured  into  it  with  a  profusion  beyond  all  that  had  ever, 
in  former  ages,  discolored  its  waves.  jNever  before,  since 
the  Christian  religion  was  vouchsafed  from  heaven  to  be 
a  blessing  to  mankind,  was  the  whole  mass  of  its  profes- 
sors thus  raised  by  a  simultaneous  impulse,  and  arrayed 
against  one  another;  as  if  they  had  all  agreed  as  one 
man,  while  disagreeing  in  everything  else,  to  disown  the 
empire  of  the  Prince  of  peace:  never  indeed  before, 
since  the  world  began,  was  any  war  excited,  which  de- 
luged the  surface  of  the  globe  with  such  wide  spread 
desolation.  Posterity  will  read  of  the  events  which  the 
middle-aged  part  of  the  present  generation  have  wit- 
nessed, with  greater  wonder,  than  that  with  which  we  in 
our  childhood  used  to  read  of  the  innumerable  hosts  of 
Xerxes  and  the  exploits  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  con- 
querors: all  the  surprising  histories  of  antiquity  will  ap- 
pear but  re(;ords  of  insignificancy,  when  compared  with 
the  history  of  our  times.  There  have,  it  is  true,  been 
wars  in  all  former  ages;  and  if  the  late  tremendous 
series  of  conflicts  had  been  of  a  common  description 
I  should  not  think  of  urging  them  as  an  argument  on 
this  occasion:  but  if  all  must  allow  them  to  be  of  a  to- 
tally unprecedented  character,  my  readers  cannot  think 
that  I  press  them  too  far,  in  calling  upon  them  to  refer 
such  events  to  an  adequate  interior  cause.  What  ade- 
quate cause  of  such  wonders  can  be  assigned,  but  some 
great  convulsion  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  world  dis- 
playing itself  in  corresponding  events  in  the  world  of 
nature?  what,  in  fact,  but  the  performance  of  a  judg- 
ment there,  whence  flow  as  a  necessary  consequence, 
natural  judgments  here? 

And  if  the  war  was  of  so  astonishing  a  character, 
what  have  been  its  eff'ects  upon  the  states  of  Christen- 
dom ?  During  its  continuance,  several  were  sometimes 


96  THE  LAST  JUDGMENT. 

swept  from  the  map  of  Europe  in  a  single  campaign: 
and  though  the  most  considerable  were  restored  at  the 
peace,  it  was  with  such  great  alterations,  both  in  their 
internal  polity  and  external  relations,  that  it  is  strictly- 
correct  to  say,  that  the  entire  face  of  the  European,  yea, 
of  the  whole  Christian  commonwealth  has  been  com- 
pletely changed.  To  apply  the  prophetic  phrase  in  the 
sense  which  commentators  usually  assign  to  it;  —  the 
former  heaven  and  earth  of  every  state  of  Christendom 
have  passed  away;  and  they  have  been,  with  scarce  an 
exception,  so  entirely  new-modelled,  that  they  have  re- 
ceived, politically,  a  new  heaven  and  earth  in  their  place  . 

Now  it  may  be  observed  as  at  least  a  remarkable 
coincidence,  that  the  troubles  which  have  had  so  extra- 
ordinary a  career  and  termination,  broke  out  at  exactly 
the  same  distance  of  time  after  the  date  assigned  by  Swe- 
denborg  for  the  performance  of  the  Last  Judgment  in  the 
spiritual  world,  and  of  which  he  published  his  account 
in  the  year  1758,  as  that  which  intervened  between  the 
conclusion  of  the  judgment  performed  by  the  Lord  while 
in  the  world  and  the  troubles  which  led  to  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem. 

But  if  the  political  changes  experienced  by  Chris- 
tendom have  been  so  great,  how  has  it  fared  with  her 
ecclesiastical  constitutions?  Are  we  not  here  partic- 
ularly struck  with  the  change  which  has  been  effected, 
almost  before  our  eyes,  in  the  state  of  the  papal  power, 
once  so  terrific  and  irresistible  ?  It  is  a  fact  acknowledged 
by  the  Protestant  interpreters  of  Scripture  (and  indeed 
the  features  of  the  portrait  are  so  plain,  that  nothing 
but  strong  prejudice  can  close  the  mental  eye  against  a 
recognition  of  the  original,)  that  the  great  harlot,  whose 
name  is  mystical  Babylon  (Rev.  xvii.),  is  a  personifi- 
cation of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion:  consequently, 
the  judgment  denounced  upon  her  (chs.  xvii.  and  xviii.) 
must  denote,  primarily,  according  to  our  view  of  the  na- 
ture of  the  Last  Judgment,  the  removal  from  the  inter- 
mediate region  of  the  spiritual  world  to  the  regions  of 
despair,  of  those  who  were  confirmed  in  the  evils  of  that 
religion;  that  is,  of  those  who  made  religion  a  pretext 
for  establishing  their  own  dominion  over  the  minds  and 
bodies  of  men.  Now  the  consequence  of  such  a  judg- 
ment in  the  spiritual  world,  must  be,  the  diminution  of 


THE  LAST  JUDGMENT.  97 

the  power  of  such  persons  in  this  world,  and  the  loose- 
ning of  the  influence  of  that  religion  over  men's  minds. 
Do  we  not  then  behold  manifest  proofs,  which  multiply 
around  us  continually,  that  Babylon,  even  in  this  world, 
has  received  her  judgment;  and,  consequently,  that  the 
Last  Judgment  in  the  spiritual  world,  which  is  the  cause 
fi-om  which  the  other  is  an  effect,  has  been  performed .'' 
The  Roman  Catholic  religion,  so  far  as  it  consists  in 
the  holding  of  certain  doctrines  and  practising  of  certain 
forms  of  worship,  may  probably  continue  for  ages,  just 
as  the  Jewish  religion,  though  the  Jewish  church  has 
long  since  undergone  its  judgment  both  in  the  spiritual 
and  the  natural  worlds,  continues  to  this  day;  but  the 
Romish  religion  as  to  that  essential  part  of  it  which  pro- 
cures for  it  in  the  divine  VVord  the  name  of  Babylon, — 
that  is,  considered  as  a  system  for  tyrannizing  over 
men's  minds  by  the  prostitution  of  sacred  things  for  that 
purpose,* — has  received  its  fatal  judgment,  and  never 
can  become  formidable  any  more.  We  have  not,  indeed, 
heard  for  ages, — in  fact,  not  since  the  Protestants  suc- 
ceeded in  fully  establishing  their  independence,  of  any 
attempt  on  the  part  of  the  popes  to  exercise  the  power, 
which  they  formerly  claimed,  of  dethroning  princes  and 
transferring  at  pleasure  their  dominions  to  others:  still 
such  a  dissolution  of  their  power  as  is  included  in  the 
denunciation,  "  Babylon  the  great  is  fallen,  is  fallen," 
was  an  event  reserved  for  our  times.  The  influence  of 
the  Romish  hierarchy  remained  very  great,  in  all  the 
countries  Vv'hich  continued  to  profess  that  religion,  till 
within  a  recent  period.  We  have  seen  the  pope  himself 
dragged  from  his  throne,  and  degraded  into  a  mere  tool 
of  the  ambition  of  Napoleon:  and  though  he  has  since 
been  restored  by  the  allied  sovereigns  from  motives  of 
policy,  yet  is  he  shorn  of  his  beams;  his  influence  is 
annihilated;  and  he  now  sits  in  St  Peter^s  chair  (as  they 
call  it)  more  as  a  puppet  than  a  prince.  His  desires 
may  perhaps  be  as  capacious  as  ever;  and  to  promote 
their  aims  he  has  restored  the  order  of  the  Jesuits,  for- 
merly the  right  hand  of  the  papal  power;  but  never  can 
he  restore  the  causes  from  which  that  order  derived  its 

*  That  this  is  the  true  signification  of  Babylon  throughout  the 
Scriptures,  may  be  seen  in  the  Plenary  Inspiration^  &c.  p.  361 
to  381. 

9 


98  THE  LAST  JUDGMENT. 

efficiency.  The  spirit  and  soul  of  Jesuitism  are  gone, 
in  the  removal  from  their  immediate  connexion  with  the 
human  race  of  those  who  formed  Babylon  in  the  spiritual 
world;  and  hence,  however  good  may  be  the  will  of  the 
pope's  new  myrmidons,  being  no  longer  supported  by 
the  same  influence  from  the  world  of  causes,  they  never 
can  revive  much  more  of  the  old  Jesuits  than  the  name. 
Thus  the  restoration  of  the  pope  to  his  throne  is  by  no 
means  synonymous  with  the  restoration  of  his  power. 
The  spell  which  bound  the  minds  of  men  to  his  sway, 
has  been  broken,  and  can  never  be  renewed.  We  are 
continually  hearing  of  new  circumstances  which  demon- 
strate, that  a':  i  authority  is  no  longer  much  respected, 
even  by  nations  which  continue  to  profess  his  religion. 
The  events  of  the  last  few  years  in  Spain,  Portugal,  and 
Italy,  evince  tir;i.l  ,  oy  great  numbers,  in  those  countries, 
once  the  chief  »^»»««  of  his  influence,  it  is  now  entirely 
despised:  an  1  L.c  i.ow  states  of  South  America,  the 
inhabitants  oJ  which  were  so  long  among  the  most  de- 
voted slaves  ot  ihe  Roman  see,  are  shewing  a  deter- 
mination to  follow  up  their  rejection  of  civil  with  the 
abolition  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  and,  by  allowing 
freedom  of  worship,  are  giving  the  fatal  blow  to  priestly 
domination.  VVho  would  have  expected,  a  few  years 
ago,  to  behold  an  accredited  envoy  from  Mexico  ma- 
king a  speech  at  a  Bible  Society's  meeting,  avowing 
it  to  be  the  general  wish  of  his  countryman  to  read  the 
Scriptures  in  their  own  language,  and  their  joint  con- 
viction, that  civil  and  religious  liberty  are  as  essential 
to  the  welfare  of  a  people,  as  are,  to  the  support  of  life, 
the  two  gases  which  compose  the  air  we  breathe  ?  Even 
the  priests  of  those  countries  seem  resolved  to  he  popish 
priests  no  longer;  for,  in  contradiction  to  a  main  charac- 
teristic ofthat  hierarchy,  many  of  them  are  distinguishing 
themselves  among  the  most  active  promoters  of  infor- 
mation and  general  improvement.  Here  are  new  moral 
phaenomena  indeed.  Evident  tokens  are  everywhere 
springing  up,  evincing,  that  the  pretension  on  the  part 
of  any  fallible  man  to  the  power  of  opening  and  shutting 
heaven  at  pleasure,  which  has  been  the  grand  engine 
by  the  use  of  which  the  Roman  pontiffs  attained  such 
extraordinary  influence,  will  soon  be  scouted  as  ridicu- 
lous  through  every  country  of  Christendom,    and  that 


THE   LAST  JUDGMENT.  99 

men  will  soon  everywhere  wonder  by  what  strange  in- 
fatuation their  fathers  could  have  submitted  to  such  pal- 
pable arrogance  and  blasphemy.  The  cause  of  that  in- 
fatuation, according  to  our  views,  was,  that  multitudes 
of  those  who,  in  this  world,  had  promoted  the  Romish 
ecclesiastical  corruptions, — of  priests  and  monks  and 
their  adherents, — had  established  themselves  in  the  in- 
termediate region  of  the  spiritual  world,  acting  as  clouds 
by  which  the  light  that  is  ever  in  the  effort  of  flowing 
from  heaven  into  the  human  mind  was  in  great  part  in- 
tercepted, and  instead  of  it  were  substituted  such  in- 
fluences as  tended  to  uphold  the  domination  which  such 
spirits,  and  their  like  in  this  world,  affect :  and  the  reason 
why  such  infatuation  prevails  no  longer,  is,  as  we  are 
convinced,  because,  by  the  Last  Judgment,  those  spirits 
are  removed,  and  light  from  heaven,  thus  gaining  new 
access  to  the  minds  of  men,  exposes,  as  one  of  its  first 
effects,  the  absurdity  of  such  pretensions.  Can  any 
one  look  at  the  wonderful  change,  in  this  respect,  which 
is  everywhere  experienced,  and  not  acknowledge  the 
cause  which  we  assign  for  it  to  be  the  most  worthy,  yea, 
the  only  adequate  one,  that  can  be  conceived?  Can  any 
one,  on  its  being  suggested  to  him,  fail  to  recognise,  in 
these  surprising  events,  plain  signs  that  the  Last  Judg- 
ment is  accomplished?* 

*  Here  also,  it  may  be  observed,  we  have  a  clew  that  would  guide 
to  a  sound  decision  of  the  famous  Catholic  question.  The  opponents 
of  Catholic  emancipation  consist  of  those,  who  draw  their  opinion 
on  the  subject  from  theology  and  ecclesiastical  history;  who  tlience 
know  what  are  the  tenets  of  that  religion,  which  a  cliurch  that  pro- 
fesses to  be  infallible  cannot  explicitly  revoke,  and  what  are  the  enor- 
mities to  which  those  tenets  have  lent  their  sanction.  These  resist 
the  Catholic  claims  under  the  nppiehension,  that  the  moment  Fio- 
testants  cease  to  tread  the  Catholics  under  their  feet,  they  will  mount 
over  their  heads,  and  will,  sooner  or  later,  relume  the  fires  of  Smith- 
field.  Nor  do  those  who  take  this  view  of  the  question  merit  the 
ridicule  which  is  sometimes  thrown  upon  them.  If  they  are  practi- 
cally wrong,  they  are  not  wrong  without  a  reason.  Their  opinion  is 
founded  on  the  ample  experience  of  former  times.  It  would  unques- 
tionably have  been  the  right  opinion  much  less  than  a  hundred  years 
ago  :  and  as  they  know  nothing  of  the  great  spiritual  cause  which 
has  intervened  to  invalidate  the  deductions  fiom  ancient  experience, 
it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  if,  dwelling  as  their  thoughts  do  upon 
positive  facts,  they  fear  to  trust  to  the  altered  state  of  feeling  which 
is  everywhere  apparent.  On  the  other  hand,  the  advocates  of  Cath- 
olic emancipation  consist  of  those  who  allow  themselves  to  be  carri- 


100  THE    LAST    JUDGMEWT. 

But  not  only  do  the  effects  in  the  natural  world  of  the 
accomplishment  of  the  Judgment  in  the  spiritual  display 
themselves  in  the  way  of  visitations,  but  also,  in  direct 
dispensations  of  mercy;  for  the  sake  of  which,  indeed, 
all  divine  judgments  are  performed.  The  calamities 
with  which  they  are  accompanied,  are  only  designed  to 
remove  obstructions  out  of  the  way,  and  to  make  room 
for  the  reception  of  the  benefits  wliich  the  Divine  Judge 
ever  has  in  view.  If  the  wicked  who  occupied  the  inter- 
mediate region  of  the  spiritual  world,  were,  by  the  judg- 
ment there,  cast  into  hell,  it  was  that  the  good  who  v/erc 
mixed  with  them,  or  reserved  in  the  lower  parts  of  the 
spiritual  world  on  account  of  them,  might  be  raised  into 
heaven;  and  also,  that  the  divine  efflux  of  spiritual  life 
and  light,  which  they  intercepted  in  its  passage  to  men 
on  eartjj,  might  have  free  course:  in  like  manner  if 
Christendom  has  Lcen  visited  with  tremendous  troubles, 
as  a  first  consequence  of  the  performance  of  the  judg- 
ment in  the  spiritual  world,  it  is  that  a  second  conse- 
quence may  follow,  and  that  the  divine  outpop.ring  of 
spiritual  life  and  light  may  produce  the  blessings  for 
which  it  is  bestowed.  If  then  we  see,  in  tlie  world 
around  us,  marks,  in  this  way,  of  the  activity  of  this  divine 
efflux,  they  are  sure  signs  that  the  judgment  in  the  spir- 
itual world  has  been  performed.  In  what  we  have  al- 
ready noticed,  even  such  marks  are  palpable.  But  how 
evident  is  the  change,  and  that  a  change  for  the  better, 
which,  in  many  other  respects  likewise,  has  passed  upon 

ed  along  by  the  spirit  of  the  present  times.  Though  unricquainted 
with  the  true  cause,  they  feel  that  the  facts  on  which  their  opponent's 
arguments  are  grounded,  are  grown  obsolete.  They  perceive  that 
the  state  of  the  human  mind,  among  Catholics  as  well  as  Protestants, 
has  undergone  a  great  change,  and  that  were  the  Romish  priesthood 
again  to  urge  the  pretension':  to  unlimited  dominion  which  made 
them  once  so  foimidable,  and  which  lay  at  the  t^ource  of  ali  tlie 
wicked  deeds  which  they  perpetrated  in  the  name  of  religion,  it 
would  onl}'  deprive  them  of  the  share  of  influence  v.hich  they  5'et 
retain,  and  make  them  universally,  among  Catholics  as  well  as  Pro- 
testants, objects  of  execration.  Practically,  as  we  conceive,  these 
are  right,  though  they  know  not  the  reason.  They  see  so  plainly  one 
of  the  consequences  of  the  Last  Judgment,  as  to  be  willing-  to  legis- 
late upon  it,  though  not  aware  of  its  true  cause.  And  is  not  the  extent 
to  which  this  acknowledgment  of  an  effect  of  the  Last  Judgment  is 
forcing  itself  upon  the  minds  of  men,  another  efTect  of  that  judgment, 
and  an  additional  argument  that  it  has  boen  performed  ? 


THE    LAST    JUDG3IENT.  101 

the  state  of  mankind; — a  change  so  obvious  to  all,  that 
we  can  scarcely  take  up  a  magazine,  or  newspaper,  or 
any  new  publication  whataver,  without  finding  it  advert- 
ed to  with  admiration!  How  constantly  are  some  ot^the 
features  of  this  mighty  alteration  dwelt  upon,  in  almost 
every  public  meeting,  political  or  religious!  I  had  ask- 
ed above,*  "  Does  not  every  voice  confess  that  we  are 
living  in  a  most  extraordinary  era  of  the  world?  Is  not 
every  mind  impressed  with  the  conviction,  that  there  is 
something  almost  preternatural  in  the  character  of  the 
present  times?"  And  I  had  asked  further,  respecting 
the  improvements  everywhere  springing  up,  v/hetherthey 
are  not  "  continually  calling  forth,  from  every  quarter, 
exclamations  of  surprise,  and  expanding  every  bosom 
with  the  hope,  that  the  opening  of  a  new  and  happier 
day  than  the  world  has  ever  before  seen  is  now  dawning 
on  mankind?"  Every  reader  who  is  at  all  acquainted 
with  the  modern  press,  or  who  has  made  any  observa- 
tions on  passing  events  for  himself,  will  be  ready  to  give 
these  questions  an  affirmative  answer.  Multitudes  of 
extracts  from  periodical  and  other  publications,  return- 
ing such  an  answer,  might  easily  be  adduced;  but  their 
frequency  makes  it  unnecessary  to  cite  them:  I  will  only 
take,  as  a  sample,  a  short  passage  from  the  prospectus 
of  a  new  literary  undertaking,'}'  which  came  into  my 
hands  while  writing  this  Section,  and  which  is,  in  part,  a 
perfect  echo  of  my  above  cited  questions:  ^'  The  most 
unthinking,  as  well  as  the  most  prejudiced,"  says  the 
well-informed  writer  of  this  paper,  "must  be  struck  with 
the  fact,  that  the  period  in  which  we  live  is  extraordina- 
ry and  momentous.  Amongst  the  great  body  of  the 
people  an  unparalleled  revolution  is  at  work:  they  have 
awoke  from  that  ignorance  in  which  they  had  slept  for 
ages,  and  have  sprung  up  in  their  new  character  of 
thinking  beings,  qualified  lo  inquire  and  to  discuss;  and 
despising  both  the  despotism  and  the  bigotry  that  would 
prohibit  or  impede  their  improvement. — The  intellectu- 
al spirit  is  moving  ui)on  the  chaos  of  minds,  which  igno- 
rance and  necessity  have  thrown  into  collision  and  con- 
fusion; and  the  result  will  be,  a  new  creation.  Nature  (to 
use  the  nervous  language  of  an  old  writer)  'will  be  melted 

*  p.  20.  t  The  London  Encyclopaedia, 

9* 


102  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

down  and  recoined;'  and  all  will  be  bright  and  beautiful.^' 
It  is  thus  that  every  attentive  observer  is  impressed  by 
the  character  of  the  present  times.  Consider  then,  my 
reflecting  readers,  whether  so  great  an  effect  can  be  with- 
out a  cause!  And  to  what  cause  can  it,  with  any  de- 
gree of  reason,  be  assigned,  but  to  that  mighty  change 
in  the  interior  sphere  of  human  minds  eflfected  by  the 
performance  of  the  Last  Judgment  in  the  spiritual  world, 
and  to  the  pouring  thence  of  new  energies  from  heaven 
into  the  awakening  faculties  of  man? 

Let  us  here  ask.  How  might  such  a  pouring  of  ener- 
gies from  heaven,  and  of  light  thence,  into  the  minds  of 
men  in  general,  be  expected,  in  the  first  instance,  to  op- 
erate? What  the  writer  of  the  above  quotation  calls 
''  the  intellectual  spirit  moving  upon  the  chaos  of  minds," 
is  what  the  Scripture  calls  "  the  spirit  of  God  moving 
upon  the  face  of  the  waters."  The  ultimate  object  of 
the  divine  movement  is,  that  man  may  be  made  in  the 
image  and  likeness  of  God;  in  other  words,  that  man 
should  rise  to  the  full  dignity  of  his  nature,  as  the  re- 
cipient, without  perverting  them,  of  love  and  wisdom 
from  God;  for  it  is  only  such  a  being  as  this, — a  being  in 
whom  the  spiritual  faculties  as  well  as  the  natural  en- 
dowments belonging  to  human  nature  are  properly  de- 
veloped,— that  the  Word  of  God  emphatically  denomi- 
nates a  man.  Nevertheless,  though  it  is  as  a  spiritual 
being  that  man  is  last  perfected,  it  is  as  a  natural  being 
that  he  first  comes  into  existence;  and  his  natural  facul- 
ties, from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  of  them,  are  succes- 
sively unfolded,  before  his  spiritual  ones  are  opened. 
Hence  the  operations  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  in  Genesis, 
consisted  in  calling  into  birth  all  the  lower  parts  of  crea- 
tion, beginning  from  the  lowest  of  all  and  advancing  to 
the  higher,  before  man  himself  was  produced;  all  which 
inferior  objects  are  exact  images  of  the  various  faculties 
that  belong  to  the  natural  part  of  the  human  constitution; 
whilst  that  which  is  called  wan, — the  image  and  likeness 
of Godj — is  man  considered  as  to  his  spiritual  part, — a 
receptacle  of  love  and  wisdom  from  God; — to  which  it  is 
given  to  reign  over  the  lower  powers.  Such  was  the 
order  in  which  the  Divine  Spirit  proceeded  at  first:  such 
then  is  the  order  in  which  the  new  outpouring  of  divine 
iolluences  might  be  expected  to  operate  nov^: — and  ac- 


THE  LAST  JUDGMENT.  103 

cordingly,  such  is  the  order  in  which  it  is  now  working 
its  wonders  anew  among  mankind. 

Hence  then  it  is  that  we  see,  in  every  direction,  such 
astonishing  improvements  in  whatever  has  for  its  object 
the  well-being  of  man  as  to  the  natural  part  of  his  con- 
stitution. Look  at  the  extraordinary  manner  in  which 
the  science  and  practice  of  agriculture  have,  during  the 
last  thirty  or  forty  years,  been  advanced;  which  has 
been  such,  that  although  the  population  of  the  globe, 
especially  of  the  Christian  part  of  it,  has  increased  in  a 
ratio  beyond  all  that  was  ever  known  before  (a  circum- 
stance which  itself  is  a  most  striking  result  of  the  in- 
creased energy  with  which  life,  from  the  first  Source  of 
life,  is  flowing  into  nature),  the  earth  has  not  proved  in- 
capable of  supplying  food  f:>r  the  increasing  multitude, 
but  has  poured  forth  her  productions  with  corresponding 
profusion:  proclaiming  the  fact,  that  the  divine  com- 
mand requiring  her  to  bring  forth  her  increase, — in  other 
words,  the  divine  energy  producing  it, — has  gone  forth 
anew.  Behold,  again,  the  wonderful  manner,  in  which 
iTjanufacturing  skill  and  power  have  been  augmented; — 
the  astonishing  perfection  given  to  machinery;  which  is 
such,  that  wood  and  metal  appear  to  be  informed  with 
human  intelligence,  whilst  they  are  actuated  by  a  force 
imparted  by  inanimate  agents  immensely  beycnd  any 
that  could  be  yielded  by  animal  strength.  Hereby 
every  production  of  human  ingenuity  required  for  the 
necessities,  comforts,  or  convenience  of  man,  has  been 
multiplied  to  an  extent  which  not  long  since  would  have 
been  deemed  impossible;  and  so  reduced  at  the  same  time 
in  price  as  to  be  made  attainable  by  all:  in  which,  again, 
we  behold  a  new  outpouring  of  divine  energies,  render- 
ing, in  an  unprecedented  manner,  the  hands  of  men  pro- 
ductive. Look,  also,  at  the  amazing  improvements,  in 
many  other  things;  such  as  the  banishment  of  night  from 
our  streets  by  the  introduction  of  gas-lights,  and  the 
splendor  added  by  the  same  invention  to  our  saloons 
and  public  edifices;  or  the  ameliorations  in  ways  and 
roads,  and  in  the  facilities  for  conveying  goods  and  trav- 
ellers by  land  and  by  water;  which  are  such  that,  in  a 
great  degree,  as  to  its  separating  power,  space  is  anni- 
hilated, and  the  remotest  parts  of  the  globe  are  brought 
into  vicinity.     Here,  again,  who  can  fail  to  see  some 


104  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

extraordinary  agency  at  work,  giving  an  unwonted  im- 
pulse to  human  energies,  and  exhibiting,  in  its  extreme 
or  lowest  ejects,  the  increased  action  of  the  world  of 
life  and  activity? 

But  if  we  proceed  to  a  slight  view  ofsomeof  the  moral 
phaenomena  of  the  times,  greater  wonders,  if  possible, 
will  demand  our  admiration.  Observe,  then,  the  surpri- 
sing advance,  on  the  one  hand,  of  science;  and,  on  th*^ 
other,  the  universal  increase  of  the  desire  for  knowledge, 
combined  with  the  extraordinary  multiplication  of  the 
means  for  its  diffusion.  Since  the  time  at  which  we 
believe  the  Last  Judgment,  in  the  spiritual  world,  to  have 
taken  place,  every  branch  of  Science  has  been  improved 
to  a  most  unexpected  extent,  whilst  many  new  ones  have 
been  added,  and  others  have  assumed  a  form  which 
makes  them  virtually  new:  thus  Geology,  whose  discov- 
eries are  so  highly  interesting,  whose  conclusions  are  so 
momentous,  and  whose  practical  uses  are  so  eminent,  is 
entirely  the  offspring  of  modern  times:  whilst  Chemistry, 
which  is  so  continually  astonishing  us  with  fresh  won- 
ders, has  undergone,  in  our  times,  a  change  equivalent 
to  a  new  creation.*     Nor  is  the  progress  that  has  been 

*  Speaking  lately  ini  company,  of  tlie  great  modern  improvements 
in  Science  as  one  of  the  effects  of  the  light  flowing  from  the  spirit- 
ual world  in  consequence  of  the  accomplishment  of  the  Last  Judg- 
ment, a  scientific  friend,  who  was  struck  with  the  idea,  was  so  kind 
as  to  send  me,  soon  af.erwards,  the  following  list  of 

'■*  Improvements  in  A'^atural  Science  made  about  or  subsequently 
to  the  era  of  the  Last  Jud^tnent,  1757. 
"  The  distinct  classification  of  natural  heings  and  substances  of 
all  kinds, — [he  determinate  recognition  of  their  respective  specific 
identity,  and  denotation  of  that  identity  by  names, — which  have 
effected  so  many  suborditiate  improvements  in  science,  were  not 
made  until  about  the  above  era. — The  Linna;an  system  of  natural 
history,  which  was  mateiially  concerned  in  the  improvement  just  no- 
ticed, was  promulgated  from  about  1735  to  1778,  and  came  into  full 
reception  about  the  latter  period,  or  perhaps  somewhat  before. — 
The  doctrine  of  the  regular  succession  of  the  stratified  masses  con- 
stituting the  crust  of  the  globe,  forming  the  foundation  of  the  mod- 
ern science  of  Geology,  was  first  delivered  distinctly,  and  to  a  consid- 
erable degree  demonstrated,  by  Lehman  in  1756,  and  by  Mitchell  in 
1760. — Five  primary  planets,  and  eight  or  ten  secondary  planets  or 
satellites,  have  been  discovered  since  1757.  No  addition  to  the 
former  class  of  heavenly  bodies  had  been  made/rom  time  immemo- 
rial;  and  none,  I  think,  to  the  latter,  for  a  century  before;  but  of 
this  I  am  not  certain. — Many  departments  of  mathematical  and  phy- 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  105 

made  by  elegant  literature  of  all  kinds  less  rapid  and 
extraordinary;  whilst,  of  late,  particularly,  a  great  pro- 

sical  science  which  liad  scarcely  any  existence  before,  and  some 
which  were  absolutely  unknown,  have  risen  to  great  importance 
since  1757,  Among  the  former  are  several  branches  of  mathemati- 
cal analysis,  which,  in  the  investigation  of  problems  in  physics,  have 
nearly  superseded  the  old  and  tedious  geometrical  methods. — The 
sciences  of  Mineralogy,  Chemistry  ;  (see  below)  and  Electricity, 
have  assumed  a  form  since  1757,  altogether  distinct  from  that  which 
they  bore  in  the  previous  period.  It  would  seem  indeed  that  a  new 
discrete  degree  was  developed  in  the  sciences  at  that  era ;  a  marked 
character  of  which  wa^  the  improvement  first  noticed  in  this  list. — 
A  great  variety  of  truths  merely  suspected  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
seventeenth  century  and  former  part  of  the  eighteenth,  were  seen  in 
the  clearest  light  after  the  above  era. — The  entire  science  of  galvan- 
ism, or  voltaic  electricity,  which  has  exerted  so  great  an  inllucnce 
on  that  of  Chemistry,  as  well  in  theory  as  in  practice,  and  given  rise 
to  so  many  discoveries  in  it,  has  arisen  since  the  era  of  the  last 
judgment :  it  was  absolutety  unknown  before. — The  true  nature  of 
thunder  and  lightning  was  discovered  about  1750,  by  Dr  Franklin. 
Is  it  m  correspondence  [thunder  and  lightning  being  used  as  figures, 
in  Scripture,  of  the  revelation  from  heaven  of  Divine  Truth]  that 
this  discovery  should  have  been  made  at  the  same  time  that  the  spir- 
itual sense  of  the  Scriptures  was  being  revealed  to  mankind  ?  [The 
first  volume  of  Swedenborg's  theological  works  was  printed  in  1749,] 

"  The  steam  engine  was  invented  (as  a  machine  for  use)  about 
1700,  or  a  year  or  two  before  :  but  it  received  its  grand  improvements 
about  1764. — The  application  of  iron  as  a  principal  article  in  civil  and 
naval  architecture,  did  not  take  place  until  after  1757.  It  was  em- 
ployed in  arms  and  machinery  for  ages  before. 

"  The  following  arc  a  few  of  the  particular  discoveries  in  chemis- 
try since  the  year  1757: — The  constitution  of  the  atmosp'icre. — 
The  composition  of  water.— The  existence  of  Latent  or  combined 
heat  (that  is,  of  certain  phssnomena  referred  by  philosophers  to  such 
an  origin  :  great  fallacies,  no  doubt,  are  involved  in  the  prevailing 
doctrines  on  the  subject;  but  these  phcenomena  were  unknown,  in 
the  science  of  heat,  before). — The  radiation  of  terrestrial  heat  ;  that 
H,  the  passage  into  space  in  right  lines  of  the  heat  obtained  from  ar- 
tificial sources,  independently  of  the  solar  beams;  as  well  as  of  the 
lieat  any  substance  has  previously  imbibed  from  the  sun.  By  this 
property  every  substance  in  nature  emulates  the  sun,  as  to  his  diffu- 
sion of  heat. — The  doctrine  of  the  mutual  relations  of  the  regular 
geometrical  forms  assumed  by  almost  every  substance,  or  the  science 
of  crystallography. — Tbo  doctrine  of  the  definite  proportions  'u\ 
which  bodies  mutually  combine;  by  which  every  substance  in  na- 
ture, wliether simple  or  compound,  is  shev.n  to  combine  in  a  quantity 
represented  by  a  certain,  7t?/m5er,  which  number  represents  the  sub- 
stance  in  all  its  relations;  called  the  atomic  theory. — There  i? 
somediuerence  of  opinion  amongst  chemists,  as  to  what  truly  consti- 
tutes the  metnllic  nature;  but  there  are  probably  about  thirty '-ine 
metals,  of  which  twentyfour  have  been  discovered  since  1757, 
How  immsuso  aa  addition  to  the  science  this  is,  is  evinced  by  the 


106  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

portion  of  the  new  works  which  appear  have  a  moral  aim 
in  view,  and  are  adapted  to  assist  in  promoting  the  best 
interests  of  mankind.*  Whence  can  such  an  increase 
of  natural  light  result,  but  from  a  new  outpouring  of 
light  from  heaven,  of  which,  when  received  in  the  natu- 
ral faculties  of  the  human  mind,  improvements  in  science 
are  the  natural  offspring  ?  And  while  every  kind  of  mental 

facts,  that  not  one  new  metal  was  discovered  between  1541  and 
1732,  and  only  four  between  1732  and  1757.  The  polarization  of 
lijifbt,  discovered  within  these  few  years,  forms  a  more  important 
addition  to  the  science  of  optics,  than  any  single  improvement  it  ev- 
er received.  "  It  is  of  course  to  be  understood  that  most  of  the  new 
doctrines  in  science  to  which  a  date  has  been  liere  assigned,  did  not 
come  into  full  reception  in  the  minds  of  philosophers  until  a  few  years 
subsequent  to  their  date." 

*  I  cannot  here  refrain  from  citing  the  following  just  and  striking- 
remarks,  on  this  subject,  from  the  Literary  Gazette,  of  Nov.  12, 
1825,  which  met  my  eye  almost  while  writing  the  above.  "  Even 
the  cheapest  little  sheet  that  issues  from  the  press  is  good  of  its  kind. 
Fifteen  years  ago — ten  years  ago,  it  was  hardly  possible  to  lift  up  a 
periodical  paper  with  >  it  pollution.  The  press  teemed  with  what  was 
desperate  in  politics, destructive  in  moials,  ruinous  in  social  relations, 
and  horrible  in  religion  :  the  ienorant  were  deluded,  the  irresolute 
perverted,  {'.le  firm  shaxen,  by  almost  every  act  of  this  tremendous 
engine." — This  however,  like  the  political  convulsions  which  have 
shaken  the  world,  was  equally  a  consequence  of  the  increased  infiu- 
ence  poured  from  the  spiritual  world,  and  from  the  Lord  himself,  into 
the  world  of  nature,  which  is  received  by  every  one  according  to 
his  state,  and  at  the  presence,  theref  >  •  •,  of  which,  the  evil  bring 
forth  without  reserve  what  they  befoi\  tiove  to  conceal;  and  it  was 
thu3  that,  in  the  spiritual  world  itself,  the  evil  were  constrained  to 
discover  themselves  at  the  period  of  the  judgment.  This  effect  of 
the  wonderful  operation  appears  now,  however,  in  a  great  measure, 
to  be  passing  away.  To  continue  our  quotation:  "The  change, 
now,  is  as  delightful  as  it  is  extraordinary.  Except  in  the  newspa- 
pers, there  is  not  one  among  fifty  periodical  publications  which  is  not 
well  disposed,  and  useful  to  every  rank  in  life — not  one  in  hundreds 
of  an  injurious  tendency  to  the  best  interests  of  mankind.  And  we 
do  not  speak  of  works  in  extensive  circulation,  and  of  course  well 
known ;  but  of  multitudes  which  fill  their  narrow  circle  only,  but 
fill  it  in  a  way  which  half  a  century  ago  would  have  attracted  ge- 
neral applause.  In  excepting  the  newspapers,  too,  we  would  be  un- 
derstood as  not  undervaluing  those  powerful,  and,  when  rightly  con- 
ducted, admirable  productions.  The  extent  and  variety  of  their 
information  is  astonishing;  the  style  in  which  their  original  remarks 
are  written,  and  the  character  they  display,  are  such  as  challenge 
almost  unmixed  admiration,  when  we  consider  the  circumstances 
under  which  they  are  brought  forth." — "  Consider,"  says  the  Di- 
vine Prophet,  in  reference  to  the  present  times, — "  Consider  the  fig- 
tree  :  when  his  branch  is  yet  tender,  and  putteth  forth  leaves,  yc 
know  that  the  summer  is  nigh." 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  107 

food  is  thus  provided  in  such  abundance  the  appetite  for 
its  appropriation  is  not  less  remarkable;  and  institutions 
which  have  for  their  object  to  produce  this  appetite,  and 
to  supply  it  with  the  means  of  obtaining  satisfaction,  are 
everywhere  springing  up.     The  discovery  of  the  systems 
of  Bell  and  Lancaster,  followed,  as  it  has  been,  by  various 
other  improvements,  has  formed  a  new  era  in  the  science 
of  education;  the  advantages  of   which  are  now  impart- 
ed to  multitudes  at  a  less  expense  than  was   formerly 
incurred  in  bestowing  them  on  a  few\  and  by   establish- 
ments having  this  for  their  object,  those   advantages  are 
being  diffused,  not  only  throughout  this   favored  country 
but  nearly  through  the  whole  globe.     To  these  laudable 
establishments,  the  new  and  admirable  institution  of  In- 
fant Schools  is  becoming  a  powerful  auxiliary;  which,  by 
commencing  the  culture  of  the  human  mind    at  its    first 
dawn,  withdraws  it  from   the  consequences  of  parental 
neglect  and   the   contagion   of  parental  depravity,  and 
must  effectually   prevent  ignorance  and  barbarism  from 
being,  much  longer,  the    necessary  inheritance   of  the 
poor.     Nor  is  the  love  of  knowledge  and  of  diffusing  it, 
which  in  the  present  age  is  so  conspicuous,  satisfied  with 
providing  for  the  instruction  of  the  young.    The  man  de- 
sires to  perfect  what  the  child  began;  and  thus  Mechan- 
ics' Institutions,  and  Literary  Societies  of  various  kinds, 
have    been  founded    and    are    spreading   through    the 
land;  whilst  by  publications  containing  the  elements  of 
science  in  a  cheap  and  popular   form,  and  by  cheap  edi- 
tions of  literary  works  of  established  reputation,  intellec- 
tual cultivation,  of  every  species,  is   made  accessible  to 
all.      To    all,  from  the  infant  to  the  man,  and  from  the 
peasant  to  the  prince,  the  flood  gates  of  knowledge  are 
set  open:  and   the  nations    rush  eagerly  to   imbibe  the 
mind-informing  streams.      Can    we   behold    such  truly 
astonishing  changes  in  the  intellectual  condition  of  man- 
kind, without  referring  them  to  a  spiritual  cause.'*    Can 
we  fail  to  see  in  them  the  effect  of  a  new   outpouring  of 
light  and  life  from  heaven,  preparing  the  way,  by  raising 
and  cultivating  the  rational  faculties  of  man,  for  his  spirit- 
ual improvement?* 

*  I  cannot  here  refrain  from  adding  a  passage  from  a  high»church 
publication,  which  fell  under  my  observation  while  this  was  going 


108  THE    LAST    JUDG3IENT. 

Nor  is  it  only  of  natural  knowledge  that  the  streams 
are  thus  set  flowing:  by  that  truly  extraordinary,  that 
greatest  of  modern  benevolent  establishments,  the  Brit- 
ish and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  we  also  behold  dispensed, 
with  a  copiousness  unknown  to  former  ages,  the  streams 
of  salvation.  The  formation  of  such  a  society  is  itself  a 
phaenomenon;  and  its  operations  have  been  a  series  of 
wonders.  When  we  behold  men  of  all  Christian  sects, 
abandoning  their  particular  differences,  unite  to  distrib- 
ute the  Scriptures  free  from  the  glosses  and  corrupt  ex- 
positions which  most  sects  have  appended  to  them;  who 
can  fail  to  discern  in  the  work  the  mighty  finger  of  God.'* 
When  we  see,  by  the  exertions  of  this  S;)ciety,  not  only 
all  Christendom  supplied  with  the  inestimable  treasure, 
but  almost  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  the  multitudes 
of  a  thousand  tongues,  who  never  knew  before  that  God 
had  given  such  a  revelation  of  his  will,  enabled  to  read 
the  Word  of  God,  in  their  own  languages,  and  presented, 
in  their  own  languages,  with  the  Word  of  God  to  read; 
who  can  help  exclaiming,  "  This  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and 
it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes?  "  Who  can  fail  to  discover 
in  it  the  effects  of  a  new  divine  influence,  providing, 
more  extensively  than  ever,  the  means  of  human  salva- 
tion.^ Nor  are  the  efforts  which  are  making  by  Mission- 
ary Societies,  and  the  success  which,  in  some  instances, 
has  attended  them,  unworthy  of  being  noticed  in  this 
sketch  of  the  signs  of  the  present  times.  If  the  theology 
which  the  Missionaries  teach  is  not  such  as  we  can  re- 
gard as   pure,  its  effects  upon  the  degraded  idolater  are 

through  the  press,  and  which  evinces,  that  those  effects  of  the  last 
judgjiient  thiit  we  are  here  noticing,  have  powerfully  forced  them- 
selves upon  the  attention  even  of  those,  whose  natural  prejudices 
and  interests  (I  do  not  say  this  invidiously)  most  indispose  them  for 
admitting  their  reality,  and  even  incline  to  regard  them  as  an  evil. 
The  following  strong  statement  is  from  the  Quarterly  Theological 
Review  (No.  IV.  p.  399)  :  "  It  is  now  to  late  too  press  objections,  be 
they  strong  or  weak,  against  universal  education — against  that  (if  we 
may  speak  chemically)  hyperoxygenated  passion  for  imparting  know- 
ledge, which  is  so  prevalent  in  our  times.  We  are  not  left  to  argue 
and  debate  upon  what  might  have  been  better  or  worse ;  we  must 
act  upon  what  we  find  in  operation.  The  fountains  of  the  great 
deep  have  been  broken  up,  and  a  deluge  of  information, — theologi- 
cal, scientific,  and  civil — is  carrying  all  before  it,  filling  up  the 
valleys,  and  scaling  the  mountain-tops.  A  spirit  of  inquiry  has  gone 
forth,  and  sits  brooding  on  the  mind  of  man. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  109 

highly  beneficial:  and  who  can  fail  to  recognise  the  di- 
vine energies  which  are  now  pouring  forth  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  human  race,  when  he  beholds,  among 
tlieir  results,  the  Hottentot  reclaimed  from  his  filth,  and 
the  Otaheitan  from  his  impurity, — the  barbarian  brought 
within  the  circle  of  civilized  humanity, — the  savage  ele- 
vated, to  the  man! 

Here,  I  think,  I  may  close  this  Section.  Were  I  to 
attempt  to  enumerate  all  the  symptoms  of  the  mighty 
change  that  has  taken  place  in  the  state  of  mankind,  I 
might  write  a  volume  on  this  subject  alone.  Allow  me, 
then,  ye  Candid  and  Reflecting,  to  request  your  serious 
attention  to  the  instances  which  have  been  adduced,  the 
number  of  which  your  own  recollections  will  readily 
augment.  Is  not  every  one  of  them,  taken  singly,  of 
sufficient  magnitude  to  excite  surprise,  and  to  awaken 
serious  meditation  on  the  subject  of  its  cause  .^  But 
when  such  hosts  of  them  press  on  our  notice  together, 
are  v/e  not  compelled  to  refer  the  cause  to  something  of 
a  very  extraordinary  nature  indeed?  Here  are  multi- 
tudes of  phaenoraena  which  every  observer  sees  and 
owns;  and  every  one  who  observes  them  owns  likewise, 
that  "the  most  unthinking,  as  well  as  the  most  preju- 
diced, must  be  struck  with  the  fact,  that  the  period  in 
which  we  live  is  extraordinary  and  momentous:"  and 
not  only,  that  ''  amongst  the  great  body  of  the  people 
an  unparalleled  revolution  is  at  vrork," — that  "  the  foun- 
tains of  the  great  de^p  have  been  broken  up," — but  that 
the  main  seat  of  the  revolution  is  in  the  mental  part  of 
man, — "  that  the  intellectual  spirit  is  moving  upon  the 
chaos  of  minds," — that  "  it  sits  brooding  on  the  mind  of 
nian," — and  this  with  such  energy  as  to  authorize  the 
expectation,  that  "  nature  will  be  melted  down  and  re- 
coined."  Where,  I  repeat,  can  the  cause  of  such  a 
simultaneous  alteration  in  human  minds  be  looked  for, 
but  in  the  world  of  minds  itself, — in  other  terms,  in  the 
spiritual  world,  with  which  man,  as  to  his  mind,  is  most 
intimately  connected  ?  And  what  change  there  could  be 
adequate  to  the  production  of  so  great  a  change  as  we  are 
witnessing  here,  but  the  performance  of  the  Last  Judg- 
ment,— the  entirely  new  state  which  is  thence  induced 
on  the  intermediate  region  of  the  spiritual  world,  the  seat 
of  man's  most  immediate  spiritual  association, — and  the 
10 


110  THE    LAST    JUDGMENT. 

consequent  outpouring  from  heaven  of  new  streams  of 
light  and  life  into  the  world  of  nature?  The  illustrious 
Swedenborg,  so  long  ago  as  the  year  1758,  declared* 
that,  by  the  Last  Judgment,  then  just  accomplished, 
spiritual  liberty  was  restored,  and  the  state  of  servitude 
and  captivity  in  which  men's  minds  were  previously  held, 
in  regard  to  spiritual  subjects,  was  removed;  and  in  the 
year  1763  he  added,|  that  the  efflux  of  divine  energies 
from  heaven  into  the  world,  which  had  been  in  a  great 
degree  intercepted  by  the  presence  of  those  called  the 
dragon  and  his  angels  in  the  intermediate  part  of  the  spi- 
ritual world,  was,  by  their  ejection,  restored.  These 
assertions  were  made,  when  no  remarkable  effects  of  the 
change  had  yet  begun  to  manifest  themselves  in  the 
world,  and  when,  consequently,  they  could  not  be  cor- 
roborated by  acknowledged  facts:  but  how  wonderfully 
have  they  thus  been  corroborated  since,  and  what  strik- 
ing confirmations  of  them  does  every  day's  experience 
now  bring  with  it !  Am  I  then  doing  any  more  than  an- 
ticipating the  suffrage  of  many  of  my  readers,  when  I 
conclude  that  our  second  proposition  is  sufficiently  es- 
tablished;— that,  independently  of  the  assertions  ofSwe- 
denborg,  there  are  various  considerations  tending  to 
evince,  that  the  Last  Judgment  has,  in  the  spiritual  world, 
been  performed?  Will  not  all  acknowledge,  that  the 
spiritual  cause  thus  assigned  for  the  astonishing  change 
in  the  state  of  mankind,  is,  at  least,  likely  to  be  the  true 
one?  and  since  no  other  can  be  conceived  that  is  ade- 
quate to  the  effect,  will  not  the  candid  admit  it  to  be  at 
least  highly  probable,  that  the  Last  Judgment,  so  long 
looked  for  and  so  much  misunderstood,  has,  at  length, 
actually  been  accomplished? 

*  In  his  work  on  the  Last  Judgment. 
t  In  his  Continuation  of  the  former  work. 


A  HUMAN    INSTRUMENT,  &C.  1  1 1 

SECTION  V. 

A  Human  Instrument  Necessary^  and  therefore    granted. 

I  MAY  now  appeal  to  you,  I  apprehend,  with  con- 
fidence, my  Reflecting  and  Candid  Readers,  respecting 
the  means  by  which  the  great  events,  considered  in  our 
preceding  and  second  Sections,  must  be  communicated 
to  mankind.  If  it  be  true  that  the  long  expected  last 
judgment  has  at  length  been  performed, — that  the  long 
looked-for  time  of  the  Lord's  second  coming  has  at  last 
arrived, — in  what  njanner  would  it  be  reasonable  to  con- 
clude that  the  important  tidings  should  be  conveyed? 
Are  we  to  behold  a  multitude  of  angels  in  the  air,  sound- 
ing great. trumpets,  and  vocally  calling  the  attention  of 
the  world  to  the  crisis  which  has  arrived?  In  their  spir- 
itual, which,  as  regards  this  subject,  is  their  only  true 
sense,  the  prophecies  which  speak  of  such  an  announce- 
ment doubtless  must  be  (and  we  trust  have  been)  ac- 
complished: from  heaven, — that  is,  from  the  Lord 
through  heaven, — the  divine  truths  of  the  Holy  Word 
must  be  (and  we  trust  have  been)  discovered  anew;  for 
of  the  revelation,  or  communication,  of  Divine  Truth, 
the  sounding  of  trumpets  is,  in  the  Word,  the  expressive 
symbol:  but  if,  as  I  hope  has  been  sufficiently  proved, 
the  second  advent  of  the  Lord  was  not  to  be  of  a  personal 
nature;  if  the  scene  of  the  last  judgment  was  not  to  be 
in  this  lower  world,  any  otherwise  than  as  to  its  effects; 
it  follows,  that  it  was  not  by  a  visible  exhibition  of  angels 
with  trumpets  that  the  annunciation  was  here  to  be 
made.  Yet,  most  unquestionably,  some  annunciation 
was  necessary.  The  events  which  have  passed  in  our 
times,  and  which  are  transacting  still,  upon  the  theatre 
of  the  globe,  are  indeed  such  as  proclaim,  with  a  voice  of 
thunder,  that  some  most  extraordinary  operation  from  the 
spiritual  world  upon  the  world  of  nature  is  in  action;  they 
are  indeed  such  as  demonstrate,  when  looked  at  under 
the  proper  aspect,  that  the  last  judgment  has  been  per- 
formed and  that  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord  is  taking 
place:  thus,  when  the  truth  is  distinctly  proclaimed,  they 
bear  witness  to  it  in  the  most  decisive  manner:  but  they 


112  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

require  a  human  announcer  to  give  their  loud  voice  a 
distinctly  speaking  tongue.  The  second  coming  of  the 
Lord,  also,  as  we  have  seen,  is  mainly  effected  by  the 
re-discovery  of  the  momentous  and  saving  truths  con- 
tained in  his  holy  Word:  among  the  signs  of  the  times 
which  we  have  noticed,  are  the  loosening  of  the  hold 
which  erroneous  sentiments  had  taken  on  the  minds  of 
men,  a  general  change  in  men's  modes  of  thinkng,  and 
such  an  alteration  in  the  state  of  the  human  mind  as  in- 
dicates a  preparation  for  the  reception  of  juster  views 
of  divine  truth  than  have  heretofore  prevailed:  but  still 
it  is  obviously  requisite  that  the  truth  itself  should  be 
explicitly  announced,  and,  of  consequence,  that  a  Hu- 
man Instrument  should  be  raised  up  for  that  purpose. 
This  appears  to  be  the  evident  dictate  both  of  reason  and 
of  necessity:  and  to  these  is  added  the  confirming  suf- 
frage of  experience.  Never  did  a  similar  crisis  in  the 
history  of  the  divine  economy  occur  before,  but  human 
agency  was  employed  to  make  it  known.  Prior  to  the 
flood,  the  divine  purpose  was  communicated  to  Noah; 
who,  as  tradition  reports,  warned,  though  in  v^in,  his 
abandoned  contemporaries;  whence  he  is  called  by  an 
Apostle  ''  a  preacher  of  righteousness."*  When  the 
time  had  arrived  in  which  Jehovah  proposed  to  verify 
to  the  Israelites  the  promise  made  to  their  fathers  of 
putting  them  in  possession  of  Canaan,  a  band  of  r^-^.-vels 
was  not  sent  to  announce  the  fact  to  the  whole  nation, 
but  God  revealed  himself  to  Moses  and  commissioned 
him  to  bear  the  tidings  to  his  brethren.  Even  when  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  appeared  personally  on  earth,  and 
when,  if  ever,  it  might  be  supposed  that  merely  human 
agency  might  have  been  dispensed  with,  he  did  not  shew 
himself  to  the  people,  till  John  the  Baptist  had  an- 
nounced his  approach,  and  had  proclaimed  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  to  be  at  hand.  Surf^ly  then,  at  his  second 
coming,  which  was  not  to  be  a  personal  one,  a  human 
herald  must  be  altogether  indispensable.  Had  it  occur- 
red in  the  first  ages,  when  Christians  were  looking 
daily,  though  mistakenly,  f^r  the  second  coming  of 
their  Lord,  and  when  they  had  not  yet  learned  to  regard 
such  an  interposiiion  as  impossible,  the  appearance  oi 

^  2  Pet.  ii.  5. 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  113 

such  a  herald  would  have  been  hailed  with  joy:  and  it 
surely  ought  not  now  to  be  scouted  as  ridiculous,  by 
any  but  them,  who,  because  mankind  have  lived  so  long 
under  an  economy  different  from  that  which  prevailed 
before  the  introduction  of  Christianity, — under  an  econ- 
omy in  which  continually  repeated  missions  of  divine 
messengers  were  not  required, — have  forgotten  that 
such  missions  ever  existed  at  all,  and  that,  without  them, 
Christianity  itself  could  not  have  been  established.  It 
is,  however,  an  unqestionable  truth,  that  how  long  soever 
the  suspension  may  have  lasted,  one  more  example  of 
them  must  be  afforded; — one  case  more  must  inevitably 
arise,  in  which,  without  the  employment  again  of  one 
more  such  messenger,  the  last  great  purpose  in  the  divine 
economy  must  fail  to  take  effect,  the  last  great  predictions 
of  holy  writ  must  remain  unfulfilled  forever.  I  cannot 
then  think  that  any  ofyou  to  whom  this  Appeal  is  address- 
ed,— any  of  the  Reflecting  of  any  Denomination  what- 
soever,— can  treat  such  an  occurrence  either  as  impos- 
sible or  as  ridiculous:  I  am  sure  you  will  all  acknow- 
ledge, that,  at  the  era  of  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord, 
some  Human  Instrument  or  other  must  be  divinely  en- 
lightened to  declare  it,  and  to  communicate  the  important 
truths,  which  at  that  advent  are,  as  we  have  seen,  to  be 
unfolded  to  mankind. 

Of  this  branch,  then,  of  the  inquiry  to  be  pursued  in 
our  present  Section,  it  must  be  quite  unnecessary  to  go 
into  any  further  discussion.  That  at  the  crisis  which 
we  are  supposing,  and  which,  as  was  attempted  to  be 
shewn  in  our  second  and  last  Sections,  there  is  reason 
to  believe  has  arrived,  a  Human  Instrument  must  be 
necessary,  will,  I  am  persuaded,  be  generally  acknow- 
ledged: the  only  question  then  which  we  have  now  to  con- 
sider, is,  whether  such  an  Instrument  has  been  granted 
in  the  person  of  the  everyway  respectable  and  truly  il- 
lustrious Swedish  philosopher  and  theologian,  the  Hon- 
orable Emanuel  Swedenborg. 

II.  An  intelligent  person  once  asked  our  author.  How 
he,  from  a  philosopher,  became  a  theologian;  to  which 
he  answered,  "  In  the  same  manner  as,  on  being  called 
by  the  Lord,  fishermen  became  apostles."  He  added, 
"  That  he  had  himself  been  a  spiritual  fisherman  from 
his  youth;"  which  he  confirmed  by  shewing,  that  in  the 
10* 


114  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

Spiritual  language,  formed  of  natural  images,  in  which 
the  Scriptures  are  written,  a  fisherman  means  a  person 
who  investigates  and  teaches  natural  truths,  and  after- 
wards spiritual  truths  in  a  rational  manner;  whence  the 
liord,  when  he  called  his  first  disciples  from  their  nets, 
said  to  them,  "  Follow  me,  and  I  will  make  you  fishers 
of  ?)ie»,"*  obviously  meaning,  instj'ucters  of  men  in  Ihe 
truths  which  relate  to  salvation.  His  interrogator  express- 
ed his  satisfaction  at  this  answer  by  the  remark,  "  That 
the  Lord  alone  knows  of  whom  to  make  choice  for  com- 
municating to  mankind  the  truths  to  be  discovered  at  his 
second  advent,  and  whether  the  suitable  Instrument  is  to 
be  found  in  the  person  of  a  mitred  prelate,  or  of  one  of 
his  footman,"  This,  certainly,  was  the  judgment  both 
of  piety  and  of  good  sense.  In  the  case  before  us,  how- 
ever, even  human  reason  must  concur  in  the  fitness  of 
the  choice  made  by  Divine  Wisdom.  All  that  is  known 
of  the  illustrious  Swedenborg,  points  him  out  as  a  man 
in  whom  was  centered  everything  that  could  qualify  a 
human  being  for  such  an  office. 

In  his  external  circumstances  there  is  nothing  that  can 
be  objected  against  the  probability  of  his  being  made 
the  subject  of  a  selection  which  must  fall  on  some  one;, 
except  that  he  was  not  a  priest,  or  a  minister  of  religion 
by  profession:  but  if  this  objection  may  with  any  appear 
to  bear  some  shadow  of  reason,  a  little  reflection  must 
convince  every  one  that  it  carries  none  of  the  reality. 
On  what  former  occasion  did  the  Divine  Being  first  pub- 
lish a  new  dispensation  of  his  grace  and  truth,  by  the 
instrumentality  of  any  who  had  been  ministers  of  the 
former  ?  Though  Moses  was  the  son-in-law  of  a  gentile 
priest,  and  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  acted  as  a 
priest  himself  in  the  inauguration  of  Aaron  into  the  holy 
office,  he  did  not  previously,  nor  ever  professionally, 
belong  to  the  order.  In  like  manner,  it  was  not  from 
the  priests  ofthe  Jewish  Church  that  the  Lord  selected 
his  apostles.  The  Baptist,  indeed,  was  the  son  of  a 
priest,  and  entitled,  by  the  Levitical  constitutions,  to  ex- 
ercise the  office  himself;  but  when  he  arrived  at  the  age 
fixed  for  that  purpose  by  law,  instead  of  taking  up  the 
function  by  ministering  in  the  temple,  he  began  in  the 

*  Matt.  iv.  19.     Mark  i.  17. 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  115 

wilderness  to  proclaim  the  advent  of  the  Messiah:  and 
the  circumstance  of  his  origin,  instead  of  depriving  his 
character  of  parallelism  wilh  that  of  Swedenborg,  really, 
if  a  coincidence    so  unimportant   be  worth  remarking, 
makes  it  more  perfect;  since  Swedenborg  also  was  the 
son  of  a  priest,  the  excellence  of  whose  character  is  the 
subject  of  encomium  with  all  who  have  had  occasion  to 
mention  him, — of  a  modern  Zacharias,  who,  with  Eliza- 
beth his  wife,  "  walked  in  all  the  commandments  and  or- 
dinances of  the    Lord    blameless," — the  good   Bishop 
Swedberg.     But  Svvedenborg's  intrinsic    qualifications, 
moral  and  intellectual,  for  the  discharge  of  such  an  office, 
were  such  as  all  must   allow  to  be   appropriate  in  the 
highest  degree.     In  him  were  united  the  utmost  integ- 
rity, piety,   and  innocence  of  manners,   with  the   most 
comprehensive  understanding  and  most  extensive  attain- 
ments in  knowledge.     The  former  excellences,  it  will 
generally  be   admitted,   were  necessary  to  prepare  him 
for  his  office  at  all;  and  without  the  latter,  it  will  easily 
be   seen,  he  could  not  have   discharged  it  with  effect. 
He  stands  not  in  the  character  of  a  new  prophet,  in  the 
sense  usually  applied  to  that  term,  and  as  he  has  some- 
times  been  denominated  in  derision;  nor  in   that  of  a 
writer  of  additions  to  the  Word  of  God,  as  he  has  also 
been  maliciously  represented.*     The  Lord  engages,  at 
his  second  coming,  to   appear  '•  in  the  clouds  of  heav- 
en,"— or  in  the  outward  covering  of  his  Word,  which  is 
its  literal  sense, — *'  with  power  and  great  glory," — with 
the  full  evidence  and  clear  brilliancy  of  the  genuine  truth 
of  his  Word,  to  which  the  letter  is  the  covering:  and  this 
could  not  have  been  accomplished  by  sending  a  prophet, 
again  to  speak  in  the  enigmatical,  and  never,  without 
special  illumination,  clearly  understood  language  of  pro- 
phecy, but   only  by   raising   up  a  teacher  who,  under 
the  influence  of  divine  guidance  and  illumination,  should 
be  able  to  see  in  the  Scriptures,  and  to  comprehend  in 

*  To  suppose  that  the  writings  of  Swedenborg,  are  to  be  received 
as  new  books  of  Scripture,  or  that  they  are  either  offered  by  him,  or 
accepted  by  us,  in  any  such  light,  is,  either  ignorantly  or  perversely, 
to  assume  a  gross  error. 

It  was  his  belief,  and  it  is  otirs,  that  the  canon  of  Scripture  actually 
was  closed  by  the  Revelation  of  John,  though  that  book  does  not 
say  so  ;  and  what  he  delivers  are  presented  as  tiuths  drawn  from  the 
Scriptures  now  existing,  not  as  new  Scriptures  given  in  addition. 


116  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

his  own  mind,  the  subHme  truths  he  was  to  teach,  and 
to  communicate  them  in  a  manner  suited  to  their  depth 
and  importance.  Hence  the  necessity  that  the  Human 
Instrument  made  choice  of  on  this  occasion  should  be  a 
man  of  learning.  Something  similar  occurred  at  the 
first  promulgation  of  Christianity:  for  the  apostles  were 
not  all  ignorant  men.  To  diffuse  the  knowledge  of  the 
gospel  among  the  Jews,  persons  possessing  nothing  be- 
yond common  Jewish  attainments,  but  guided  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  were  competent:  but  when  "  a  chosen 
vessel"  was  required  "  to  bear  the  Lord's  name  before 
the  Gentiles,  and  kings,  and  to  the  children  of  Israel"* 
scattered  among  the  Gentiles, — to  carry  the  gospel  to  the 
learned  and  polished  nations  of  those  times, — a  man  was 
miraculously  called  to  the  work,  who,  having  been  born 
and  long  resident  at  Tarsus,  a  polite  Grecian  city,  was 
as  much  skilled  in  the  learning  of  the  Greeks,  as,  by 
having  been  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  he  was 
versed  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Jews.  Much  more  was  it 
necessary  that,  in  this  age  of  the  general  diffusion  of  na- 
tural knowledge,  the  Human  Instrument  for  first  com- 
municating the  truths  to  be  made  known  at  the  Lord's 
second  coming,  should  stand  upon  a  par  with  the  first  of 
his  contemporaries  in  scientific  attainment;  especially  as, 
while  all  the  general  doctrines  he  was  to  unfold  were  to 
be  far  more  clear,  and  more  easily  intelligible,  than  those 
commonly  received  at  present  as  the  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, some  of  the  truths  to  be  discovered  were  to  be 
of  the  most  profound  kind,  requiring  for  their  full  devel- 
opment the  highest  talent  for  abstruse  investigation,  and 
for  their  full  comprehension  the  most  exalted  powers  of 
the  best  cultivated  mind.  In  Swedenborg,  every  re- 
quisite gift  was  centered.  Well  imbued,  under  the  tu- 
ition of  his  learned  father,  and  at  the  University  of  Upsal, 
with  all  the  usual  elements  of  a  learned  education,  he 
for  a  time  cultivated  classical  literature  with  diligence 
and  success.  He  then  applied  himself  to  the  most  solid 
and  certain  of  the  natural  sciences,  and,  not  only  by  do- 
mestic study  and  by  correspondence  with  foreign  literati, 
but  by  repeated  travels  in  all  the  distinguished  parts  of 
Europe, — in    Germany,  Italy,    France,   Holland,   and 

*  Acts  ix.  15. 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED. 


117 


England, — he  made  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
all  the  knowledge  of  his  time,  and  was  admitted,  by  gen- 
eral consent,  to  a  station  among  the  first  philosophers  of 
the  age.  As,  in  the  midst  of  the  distinctions  with  which 
he  was  honored  by  his  compeers  in  learning  and  by  sov- 
ereign princes,  he  never  forgot  for  a  moment  his  orig- 
inal piety  and  modesty, — his  scientific  writings  constantly 
breathing  the  humble  and  devotional  spirit  of  a  true 
Christian  philosopher, — the  acquisitions  he  made  in  nat- 
ural science  must  be  acknowledged  to  have  formed  an 
admirable  preparation,  and  a  most  suitable  basis,  for  the 
apprehension  and  explication  of  the  spiritual  truths  which 
he  was  to  be  the  instrument  for  unfolding.  Between  the 
book  of  nature,  read  by  the  eye  of  humble  intelligence, 
and  the  Word  of  God,  every  one  intuitively  perceives 
there  must  be  an  exact  agreement;  and  spiritual  views 
can  never  be  so  little  likely  to  partake  of  delusion,  as 
when  they  make  a  copious  store  of  sound  natural  science 
their  foundation.  An  extensive  acquaintance  with  the 
knowledge  of  God  in  his  works,  must  be  the  best  pre- 
paration for  a  superior  perception  of  the  knowledge  of 
God  in  his  Word:  and  by  this  was  Swedenborg  eminently 
distinguished. 

Admitting  then  what,  we  have  seen,  none  will  deny, 
that,  at  the  era  of  the  Lord's  second  coming,  a  Human 
Instrument,  to  communicate  the  truths  then  to  be  made 
known,  would  be  necessary;  and  assuming  what,  also, 
it  is  hoped,  has  at  least  been  shewn  to  be  probable,  that 
that  long  expected  era  has  at  length  arrived;  sure  I  am 
that  all  the  Candid  and  Reflecting  will  confess,  that  no 
m.an  more  likely  to  be  made  that  Instrument  could  be 
found  in  Christendom,  than  the  man  whose  qualifications 
for  the  office  I  have  here  briefly  described.  A  'priori ,  there 
is  all  the  probability  which  such  a  case  admits,  that  the 
pretensions  of  the  eminent  and  honorable  Emanuel  Swe- 
denborg to  be  received  in  this  character,  are  well  founded. 

But  to  raise  this  probability  into  certainty,  an  examma- 
tion  of  the  views  he  has  communicated  in  sustaining  the 
character  he  claims,  would  be  necessary.  To  go  into  this 
with  fulness,  would  require  an  extensive  survey  of  his 
writings;  which  would  demand  a  work  of  much  greater 
magnitude  than  this  is  intended  to  be.  As  noticed  in  the 
Introductory  Section,  I  am  here  compelled  to  shape  my 


118  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

course  in  the  direction  marked  out  by  opponents,  partic- 
ularly by  the  Rev,  INIr  Beaumont,  and  am  consequently- 
confined  to  the  particular  explanation  and  defence  of 
those  points,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  our  adversaries, 
it  is  most  difficult  to  maintain:  if  then  I  should  succeed 
in  shewing  reason  to  believe,  that  the  views  and  doctrines 
most  objected  to  are  nevertheless  true,  it  surely  will 
be  difficult  to  doubt,  that  the  light  by  which  the  illustri- 
ous Swedenborg  was  enabled  to  discover  them,  must 
have  had  a  higher  origin  than  self  I  am  indeed  satisfied, 
that  a  most  convincing  work  might  be  written  on  the 
Internal  Evidence  which  the  writings  of  Swedenborg 
bear  to  their  own  truth;  and  this,  not  only  in  the  great 
and  leading  doctrines  which  they  deliver  and  so  scrip- 
turally  and  rationally  establish,  but  in  innumerable  more 
minute  points,  in  which  they  speak  to  the  heart,  and 
experience,  and  best  intelligence,  of  man.  There  is  no 
subject  which  they  handle  which  they  do  not  lay  open 
in  a  deeper  ground  than  is  done  by  any  other  author: 
in  particular,  they  discover  so  profoundly  and  distinctly 
the  inward  operations,  the  interior  workings,  of  the 
human  heart  and  mind,  and  unveil  man  so  fully  to  him- 
self, that  no  person  of  reflection  can  attentively  peruse 
them,  without  feeiing  a  monitor  in  his  own  breast  con- 
tinually responding  to  their  truth.  Will  it  not  follow, 
that  a  writer  who  can  thus  penetrate  into  the  most  secret 
things,  and  place  them  in  a  light  which  is  at  once  seen 
to  be  the  true  one,  must  have  been  the  subject  of  a 
superior  illumination,  and  must,  as  he  avows,  have  been 
admitted  to  a  conscious  perception  of  the  things  of  that 
world,  in  which  the  essences  of  things  lie  open?  But  I 
am  content,  for  the  present,  to  rest  the  truth  of  Sweden- 
borg's  pretensions  to  the  divine  illumination  he  professes 
to  have  received,  in  addition  to  the  support  they  derived 
from  his  personal  character,  upon  the  evidence  of  those 
sentiments  of  his  which  are  advocated  in  the  various  Sec- 
tions of  this  Appeal.  May  I  not  recur  to  the  view  which 
has  been  given,  in  our  second  Section,  of  the  true  nature 
of  the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord,  as  resting  on  the 
strongest  basis  of  Scripture  and  reason?  But  that  view, 
so  diffiirent  from  the  hitherto  received  notions,  yet  so 
obviously  true,  was  first  delivered  by  Swedenborg,  and 
was  seen  by  him,  because  the  time  for  the    fulfilment  of 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  119 

the  prophecies  relating  to  it  had  arrived.  May  1  not 
advert  to  the  view  of  the  Resurrection,  supported  in  our 
third  Section,  as  presenting  the  only  scriptural  and  ra- 
tional conceptions  on  the  subject  ?  Yet  this  view,  though 
partially  seen  by  many,  was,  in  like  manner,  first  con- 
clusively established  by  Swedenborg,  who  learned  it,  he 
reasonably  declares,  from  the  experience  granted  him 
to  enable  him  to  discharge  his  commission.  But  may 
I  not,  especially,  appeal  to  the  view  of  the  Last  Judgment 
delivered  in  the  Last  Section,  and  to  the  evidence  there 
adduced  of  its  having  been  accomplished,  as  being  as 
plain  as  it  is  new?  Yet  the  performance  of  that  great 
event  was  announced  by  Swedenborg,  from,  as  he  aver- 
red, his  own  experimental  knowledge,  while,  as  yet 
nothing  had  been  experienced  in  the  world  to  support 
his  assertion.  But  by  what  clouds  of  evidence  has  it 
been  supported  since!  Here  is,  it  really  appears,  a  proof 
equivalent  to  the  greatest  miracle  of  Swedenborg's 
having  been  the  Human  Instrument  requisite  to  announce 
the  Second  Coming  of  the  Lord  and  the  execution  of 
the  Last  Judgment:  he  announced  them;  and  we  see,  by 
palpable  facts,  that  they  must  have  taken  place.  He 
neither  performed  direct  miracles,  nor  delivered  predic- 
tions: but,  by  declaring  the  accomplishment  of  a  great 
event  in  the  spiritual  world  which  was  inevitably  to  be 
soon  followed  by  great  effects  in  the  natural  world, 
which  effects  we  have  so  unquestionably  witnessed,  he 
has  given  his  testimony  all  the  authority  it  could  derive 
either  from  miracles  or  prophecy,  without  making  it  in- 
juriously compulsive.*     In  our  subsequent  Sections  and 

*  Swedenborg  states,  in  his  account  of  the  Last  Judgment,  that 
when  the  interiors  of  those  who  were  inwardly  wicked,  who  had 
established  themselves  in  the  intermediate  region  of  the  spiritual 
world,  were  laid  open,  by  the  nearer  presence  of  the  Divine  Judge, 
''they  no  lofiger  appeared,  as  before,  like  moral  Christians,  but  like 
demons  :  they  raised  riots,  and  wrangled  with  each  other  about  God, 
the  Lord,  the  word,  faith  and  the  church ;  and,  as  their  concupiscences 
of  evil  were  at  the  same  lime  loosed  from  restraint,  they  rejected  all 
belief  in  such  matters  with  contempt  and  mockery,  and  rushed  into 
enormities  of  all  kinds. — As  the  opening  of  their  interiors  advanced, 
so  the  order  established  in  societies  was  changed  and  inverted.  They 
who  displayed  most  power  in  their  reasonings  against  the  sanctities  of 
the  church,  rushed  into  the  centre  and  seized  the  government:  and 
the  rest,  whose  power  by  reasonings  was  less,  gave  place  to  those  in 
the  centre,  and  acknowledged  them  as  a  sort  of  guardian  angels. 


120  A  HUMAN  IN'STRUMEIVT  NECESSARY 

in  the  sequel  of  this,  we  shall,  I  trust,  meet  other  im- 
portant points  that  are  indubitably  true,  and  capable  of 
the  most  conclusiv  e  proof,  but  to  discover  which,  in  the 
first  instance,  must  have  either  required  knowledge  ab- 
solutely supernatural,  or  a  perception  of  truth  in  the 
Scriptures  beyond  the  reach  of  any  unassisted  human 
intellect.  They  are  fully  equal  in  interest  and  mo- 
ment to  the  most  magnificent  ideas  which  can  be  formed 
of  the  truths  to  be  communicated  at  the  second  coming 
of  the  Lord:  do  they  not  then  as  fully  accredit  him  whose 
writings  convey  them,  as  the  herald  of  the  second  advent, 
as  the  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist,  owned  by  the 
Saviour  himself,  accredited  him  as  the  herald  of  the 
first?* 

Thus  things  began  to  assume  the  form  of  heil."  Now  if  this  had 
been  deUvered  as  a  prophecy  of  what  took  place  a^the  French  revo- 
lution, could  it  have  described  it  more  faithfully  ?  In  the  transactions 
which  then  occurred,  was  there  not  exhibited,  in  the  natural  world,  a 
perfect  image  of  what  this  extract  states  had  been  performed  in  the 
.spiritual  ?  In  France,  after  works  full  of  reasonings  against  the 
sanctities  of  religion  had  long  been  eagerly  read,  did  not  they  who 
were  strongest  in  the  same  principles  assume  the  government?  were 
not  enormities  of  every  kind  practised,  and  religion  actually  abolished 
by  law  ?  Who  then  may  not  behold,  in  the  one  course  of  transac- 
tions, effects  resulting  from  the  other,  and  which,  without  divine  in- 
struction, Swedenborg  could  not  have  known  ? 

*  We  will  here  support  what  has  been  advanced  above  by  some 
testimonies  of  men  of  rank  and  learning. 

It  will  perhaps  be  most  proper  to  begin  with  the  account  which 
Swedenborg  gives  of  himself,  as  contained  in  a  letter  to  his  friend, 
the  Rev.  T.  Hartley ;  and  then  to  see  how  it  is  corroborated  by  what 
others  have  testified  respecting  him.  (The  letter  was  published  by 
Mr  Hartley  in  his  prefaces  to  his  translations  of  the  works  "  On  the 
Intercourse  between  the  Soul  and  the  Body,"  and  "  On  Heaven  and 
Hell."  The  original  Latin  may  be  seen  in  a  former  periodical  pub- 
lication called  the  Aurora,  vol.  ii.  p.  224,  &c.  from  which  I  have  in 
some  places  corrected  Mr  Hartley's  version  of  it.  The  date  of  it  is 
1769.)  "  I  take  pleasure  in  the  friendship  you  express  for  me  in  your 
letter  and  return  you  sincere  thanks  for  the  same  ;  but  as  to  the  praises 
which  you  bestow  upon  me,  I  only  receive  them  as  tokens  of  your 
ioveof  the  truths  contained  in  my  writings,  and  so  refer  them  to  the 
Lord  our  Saviour,  from  whom  is  all  truth,  because  he  is  the  truth. 
(John  xiv.  6.)  It  is  the  concluding  part  of  your  letter  that  chiefly  en- 
gages my  attention,  where  you  say  as  follows  :  '  As  after  your  de- 
parture from  England  disputes  may  arise  on  the  subject  of  your  wri- 
tings, and  so  give  occasion  of  defending  their  author  against  such 
false  reports  and  aspersions  as  they  who  are  no  friends  to  truth  may 
invent  to  the  prejudice  of  his  character,  may  it  not  be   of  use,  in 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  121 

Now  against  the  illustrious  Swedenborg,  as  standing 
in  this  character,  what  objections  are  raised?    None  that 

order  to  refute  any  calumnies  of  that  kind,  that  you  leave  in  my 
hands  some  short  account  of  yourself;  as  concerning,  for  example, 
your  degrees  in  the  university,  the  offices  you  have  borne,  your 
family  and  connexions,  the  honors  which  I  am  told  have  been  con- 
ferred upon  you,  and  such  other  particulars  as  may  serve  to  the  vin- 
dication of  your  character,  if  attacked  ;  that  so  any  ill-grounded  pre- 
judice may  be  obviated  or  removed  ?  For  v/here  the  honor  and  in- 
terest of  truth  are  concerned,  it  certainly  behoves  us  to  employ  all 
lawful  means  in  its  defence  and  support.' — x\fter  reflecting  on  the 
foregoing  passage,  I  was  induced  to  comply  with  your  friendly  ad- 
vice, bv  briefly  communicating  the  following  circumstances  of  my 
life. 

"  I  was  born,  at  Stockholm,  in  the  year  1689  [it  has  been  ascertained 
that  this  should  be  1688],  Jan.  29th.  My  father's  name  was  Jesper 
Swedberg  ;  who  was  bishop  of  West- Gothland,  and  a  man  of  celeb- 
rity in  his  time.  He  was  also  elected  a  member  of  the  [English] 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  ;  for  he 
had  been  appointed  by  King  Charles  XII.  as  bishop  over  the  Swe- 
dish churches  in  Pennsylvania  and  London.  In  the  j^ear  1710  I 
began  my  travels,  first  going  to  England,  and  thence  to  Holland, 
France,  and  Germany;  whence  I  returned  home  in  1714.  In  the 
year  1716,  and  afterwards,  I  had  many  conversations  with  Charles 
XII.  king  of  Sweden,  who  was  pleased  to  bestow  on  me  a  large 
share  of  his  favor,  and  in  that  year  appointed  me  to  the  office  of  As- 
sessor of  the  Metallic  College ;  in  which  I  continued  till  the  year 
1747,  when  I  resigned  it ;  but  1  still  retain  the  salary  annexed  to  it, 
as  an  appointment  for  life.  My  sole  view  in  this  resignation  was, 
that  I  might  be  more  at  liberty  to  devote  myself  to  that  new  function 
to  which  the  Lord  had  called  me.  On  my  resigning  my  office,  a 
higher  degree  of  rank  was  offered  me:  but  this  I  utterly  declined, 
lest  it  should  be  the  occasion  of  inspiring  me  with  pride.  In  1719 
I  was  ennobled  by  Queen  Ulrica  Eieonora,  and  named  Swedenborg; 
from  which  time  1  have  taken  my  seat  with  the  Nobles  of  the  Eques- 
trian Order  in  the  Triennial  Assemblies  of  the  States  of  the  Realm. 
I  am  a  Fellow,  by  invitation,  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences  at 
Stockholm  :  butl  have  never  sought  admission  into  any  other  literary 
Society,  as  I  belong  to  an  angelic  society,  wherein  things  relating  to 
heaven  and  the  soul  are  the  only  subjects  of  discourse  and  entertain- 
ment ;  whereas  the  things  which  occupy  the  attention  of  our  literary 
societies  are  such  as  relate  to  the  world  and  the  body.  In  the  year 
1734,  I  published  at  Leipsic  the  Regnum  Minerale,  in  three  vols, 
folio  ;  and  in  1738  I  took  a  journey  into  Italy,  and  stayed  a  year  at 
Venice  and  Rome. 

"  With  respect  to  my  family  connexions  :  I  had  four  sisters.  One 
of  them  was  married  to  Eric  Benzelius,  afterwards  promoted  to  the 
Archbishopric  of  Upsal :  and  thus  I  became  related  to  the  two  suc- 
ceeding Archbishops  of  that  see,  both  named  Benzelius,  and  younger 
brothers  of  the  former.  My  second  sister  was  married  to  Lars  Ben- 
zelstierna,  who  was  promoted  to  a  provincial  government.  But  all 
these  are  dead :  however,  two  bishops  who  are  related  to  me  are  still 
11 


122  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

would  demand  any  notice,  were  they  not  continually 
reiterated,  and  did   they  not  sway  the  minds  of  those 

living :  one  of  them,  named  Filenius,  is  Bishop  of  East-Gothland,  and 
now  officiates  as  President  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Order  in  the  Diet  at 
Stockholm,  in  the  room  of  the  Archbishop,  who  is  infirm ;  he  married 
ray  sister's  daughter  :  the  other,  named  Benzelstierna,  is  Bishop  of 
Westermania  and  Dalecarlia  ;  he  is  the  son  of  my  second  sister.  Not 
to  mention  others  of  my  relations  who  enjoy  stations  of  dignity.  I 
live,  besides,  on  terms  of  familiarity  and  friendship  with  all  the  bish- 
ops of  my  country,  who  are  ten  in  number ;  as  also  with  the  sixteen 
Senators,  and  the  rest  of  the  Nobility  ;  for  they  know  that  I  am  in 
fellowship  with  angels.  The  King  and  Queen,  also,  and  the  three 
princes  their  sons,  shew  me  much  favor:  I  was  once  invited  by  the 
King  and  Queen  to  dine  at  their  table,—  an  honor  which  is  in  general 
granted  only  to  the  Nobility  of  the  highest  rank  ;  and  likewise,  since, 
with  the  Hereditary  Prince.  They  all  wish  for  my  return  home  ;  so 
far  am  I  from  being  in  any  danger  of  persecution  in  my  own  country, 
as  you  seem  to  apprehend,  and  so  kindly  wish  to  provide  against; 
and  should  anything  of  the  kind  befall  me  elsewhere,  it  cannot  hurt 
me. 

*'  But  1  regard  all  that  I  have  mentioned  as  matters  of  respectively 
little  moment;  for,  v/hat  far  exceeds  them,  I  have  been  called  to  a 
holy  office  by  the  Lord  himself,  who  most  graciously  manifested 
himself  in  person  to  me  his  servant  in  the  year  1743  ;  when  he 
opened  my  sight  to  the  view  of  the  spiritual  world,  and  granted  me 
the  privilege  of  conversing  with  spirits  and  angels,  which  I  enjoy  to 
this  day.  From  that  time  I  began  to  print  and  publish  various  ar- 
cana that  have  been  seen  by  me  or  revealed  to  me  ;  as  respecting 
heaven  and  hell,  the  state  of  man  after  death,  the  true  worship  of 
God,  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Word ;  with  many  other  most  impor- 
tant matters  conducive  to  salvation  and  true  wisdom.  The  only  rea- 
son of  my  later  journeys  to  foreign  countries,  has  been,  the  desire 
of  being  useful,  by  making  known  the  arcana  entrusted  to  me. 

"  As  to  this  world's  wealth,  I  have  what  is  sufficient :  and  more 
I  neither^seek  nor  wish  for. 

"  Your  letter  has  drawn  the  mention  of  these  things  from  me, 
with  the  view,  as  you  suggest,  that  any  ill-grounded  prejudices  may 
be  removed.  Farewell;  and  from  my  heart  I  wish  you  all  felicity 
both  in  this  world  and  the  next ;  which  I  make  no  doubt  of  your  at- 
taining, if  you  look  and  pray  to  our  Lord. 

"  Emax.  Sweden-borg." 

Now  if  the  writer  of  this  letter  really  was  invested  with  the  char- 
acter which  he  assumes,  could  anything  be  more  suited  to  that  char- 
acter than  the  whole  of  its  contents  ?  Does  not  every  sentence  and 
expression  in  it  bespeak  the  truly  humbhe,  pious,  and  heavenly-minded 
man?  Could  any  one  who  falsely  pretended  to  what  the  Author 
professes,  write  of  himself  in  a  manner  so  perfectly  in  accord  with  the 
pretensions  assumed  ?  Would  it  be  possible  for  an  impostor,  whether 
hypocritical  or  self-deluded,  to  assume  that  air  of  genuine  simplicity, 
iaward  composure,  and  unfeigned  contentedness,  which  reigns 
throughout  the  whole  .' 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  123 

who  are  destitute  of  the  information  requisite  for  form- 
ing a  correct  judgment  on  the  case.  We  will  consider 
the  two  principal.  - 

The  information  here  delivered  by  the  Author  divides  itself  into 
two  general  parts  :  first,  the  account  of  his  own  life  and  general  char- 
acter ;  secondly,  his  call  by  the  Lord  to  a  holy  otfice,  and  the  con- 
sequent opening  of  the  sight  of  his  spirit,  and  endowment  with  the  priv- 
ilege of  conversing  with  spirits  and  angles.  We  will  see  how  both 
are  supported,  by  the  testimony  of  others. 

1.  A  confirmation  of  all  the  statements  contained  in  the  first  part 
of  the  above  letter,  is  given  by  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Collin,  of  Phila- 
delphia.    This  gentleman  does  not  profess  the  sentiments  of  Sweden- 
borg:  but  in  the  year  1801,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  adoption 
of  those  sentiments  by  many  in  America,  the  character  and  life  of 
Swedenborg  had  there  become  the  subjects,  as  he  states,  of  "  fre- 
quent and  sedulous  inquiries,"  he  published  the   above  letter  of  his 
illustrious  countryman,  with  a  comment  of  his  own,  in  "  the  Phila- 
delphia Gazette  "  of  Aug.  oth,  8th,  and  10th.     It   was  reprinted  in 
''  the  New  Jerusalem  Church  Repository,"  published  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1817,  at  which  time  Mr  C.  was  still  peforming  the  duties  of 
Pastor  of  the  Swedish  Church  in  that  city.    His  testimony  thereloreis 
probably  that  of  a  still  living  witness.    Mr  Collin  was  well  qualified  to 
give   authentic  information,  having,  when  a  very  young  man,  lived 
three  years  at  Stockholm  when  "  Swedenborg  was  a  great  object  of 
public  attention  in  that  metropolis,  and  his  extraordinary  character  was 
a  frequent  topic  of  discussion.     Not  seldom  he  appeared  in  public, 
and  mixed  in  private  societies  ;  therefore  sufficient  opportunities  were 
given  to  make  observations  on  him."  I  extract  the  sentences  contain- 
ing the  heads  of  Mr  C.'s  comment,  in  confirmation  of  some  of  which 
he  goes  into  sQ^eral  details.     "  His  fa:ni!y  connexions  were  such  as 
he  relates,  and  well  known  in  Sweden  :  some  of  them  by  myself  per- 
sonally. The  mention  of  his  father  being,  though  honorable,  modestly 
short,  I  shall  enlarge  upon  it.     This  Jcsper  Swedberg  was  well  quali- 
fied for  one  of  the  principal  bishopricks  in  Sweden,  by  his  piety,  learn- 
ing, integrity,  benevolence,  and  all  other  virtues." — "  Swedenborg  is 
silent  on  the  merits  of  his  youth,  which  were  great." — "  The  office 
of  Counsellor  in  the  Metallic  College  was  conferred  on  him  by  King 
Charles  as  a  reward  for  knowledge  acquired  by  the  labors  of  youth, 
and  a    means  of  making  it  verj'^  beneficial  to  the  nation  :  that  Board 
having  inspection  over  the  mines  and  metallic  works,  so  important  in 
that  country  ;  and  being  a  constitutional  department  of  the  govern- 
ment."— "  Swedenborg  asserts  with  truth,  that  he  was  in  favor  with 
the  royal  family,  and  generally  respected  by  the  first  classes.     1  his 
was  due  to  his  learning  and  excellence  of  character." — "  Sweden- 
borg states  properly  his  rank  of  nobility.    He  had  the  common  degree, 
and  was  not,  as  many  style  him,  a  Baron  ;  which  title  denotes  the 
second  class  of  noblemen ;  the  first  among  the  three  classes  being  ' 
counts."  (This  is  unquestionably  a  just  account  of  his  rank  :  but  it 
maybe  observed,  that,  though  he  had  not  a  title,  his  degree  was  the 
same  as  in  England  carries  the  title  of  Baron,  or  Lord;  for  it  gave 
him  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Nobles,  or  of  Peers,  in  the  Diet  or  Par- 


124  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

III.  The   common    cry,    re-echoed    from    mouth    to 
mouth  and  retailed  from  pen  to  pen,  is,  that  he  was  mad; 

liament  of  his  country.     The  higher  rank,  which,  he  states  in  his 
letter,  was  offered  him  on  his  retirement  from  office,  was,  no  doubt, 
-  that  of  Baron  ;  which  in  Sweden  is  equivalent  to  our  Earl.) 

Mr  Collin  adds  an  account  of  an  interview  whicli  he  once  had 
with  Swedenborg  :  it  contains  nothing  very  remarkable,  but  enough 
to  evince  that  his  behaviour  on  intimacy  by  no  means  tended  to  di- 
minish the  respect  which  his  reputation  had  excited.  "  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1766,"  says  Mr  C,  "  I  waited  on  him  at  his  house  ;  introdu- 
cing myself  with  an  apology  for  the  freedom  I  took. — He  received 
me^'ery  kindly. — We  conversed  for  near  three  hours  :  principally  on 
the  nature  of  human  souls,  and  their  states  in  the  invisible  world  ; 
discussing  the  principal  theories  of  psychology,  by  various  authors ; 
among  them  the  celebrated  Dr  Wallerius,  late  Professor  of  Natural 
Theology  at  Upsal.  He  asserted  positively,  as  he  often  does  in  his 
works,  that  he  had  intercourse  with  spirits  of  deceased  persons." — 
•'  We  parted,"  says  Mr  C,  "  with  mutual  satisfaction." 

The  next  testimony  that  I  shall  offer  is  from  a  public  document  of 
the  greatest  authority.  It  is  no  other  than  an  oration  delivered  in  the 
Swedish  Royal  Academy  of  Sciences,  on  occasion  of  Swedenborg's 
death,  by  the  ChevaUer  de  Sandel,  Superintendant  of  the  Mines,  and 
Knight  of  the  Order  of  the  Polar  Star,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Academy 
held'in  the  Great  Hall  of  the  House  of  Nobles,  Oct.  7tb,  1772.  The 
circumstance  of  the  delivery  of  such  a  discourse,  is  r^one  a  conclu- 
sive proof  of  the  high  e?-timation  in  which  the  subject  ol  it  was  held. 
If  the  most  learned  of  those  who  have  written  against  him  had  read 
the  whole  of  this  production,  they  would  have  porhops  been  less 
ha^y  in  pronouncing  an  unfavorable  judgment.  As  Asmus  of  Wands- 
beck  says,  (in  his  works  printed  at  Breslaw)  of  one  of  his  censurers 
who  wrote  under  the  name  of  Polyhistor,  "  they  ^vDuld  have  sus- 
pended their  opinion  concerning  him,  had  they  knov. :  !..-.  Sweden- 
borg possessed  all  their  learning  in  his  cradle."  But  I  must  content 
myself  with  only  extracting  a  few  passages. 

"  Permit  ine,"  says  the  Orator  to  the  noblemen  and  gentlemen 
around  him,  "  to  entertain  you  this  day,  not  upon  i  subject  which, 
being  of  an  indifferent  nature,  might  be  uninteresting  and  might 
even  fatigue  your  attention;  but  on  a  man  illustrious  for  his  virtues, 
and  celebrated  for  the  extent  of  his  knowledge  of  every  kind,  whom 
you  well  knew  and  greatly  loved,  and  who  was  one  of  the  oldest 
members  of  this  Academy.  By  these  traits,  you  will  immediately 
recognise  the  late  M.  Emanuel  de  Swebenborg  Assessor  of  the 
Royal  College  of  Mines.  The  respect  that  we  entertained  for  this 
great  man,  and  the  affection  that  we  bore  him,  assure  me  of  the 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  that  you  will  feel  in  hearing  him  spoken  of: 
happy  shall  I  deem  myself,  if  I  in  any  degree  fulfil  the  desire  you 
entertain,  to  behold  a  man  so  dear  to  your  hearts  recalled  to  your 
minds  in  a  manner  worthy  of  his  glorious  memory.  The  task  is  diffi- 
cult. The  most  skilful  painter  finds  it  not  easy  to  present  to  the  eye 
the  exact  features  of  certain  persons  :  how  far  less  easy  is  it  to  sketch 
and  exhibit  to  the  mental  eye  a  genius  vast,  sublime,  and  laborious ; 
whenever  rested,  and  never  was  wearied  in  his  appHcation  even  to 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  125 

an  aspersion  which,  notwithstanding  some  totally  false 
and  merely  calumnious  tales  have  from  time  to  time  been 
fabricated  to  support  it,  literally  rests  upon  no  founda- 

the  most  profound  and  intricate  sciences ;  who  during  many  years 
was  engaged  in  useful  efforts  to  unveil  the  mysteries  of  nature,  opun- 
ed  a  new  way  to  arrive  at  certain  sciences,  and  finally  endeavored  to 
penetrate  into  the  sanctuary  of  the  greatest  secrets,  without  ever 
losing  sight  of  sound  morality  and  the  fear  of  the  Supreme  Being; 
and  who  retained  all  the  strength  of  his  genius  to  the  last,  notwith- 
standing that  decay  of  the  material  covering  of  the  soul  which  others 
experience  at  the  close  of  a  career  so  long,  and  to  which  so  few  attain  : 
but  who,  having  allowed  his  ideas  free  range,  and  having  carried 
them  as  far  as  they  could  go,  has  given  occasion  to  form  different 
opinions  respecting  him  ;  according  to  the  different  manner  in  which 
the  same  object  is  looked  at  by  different  persons,  and  the  point  of 
view  from  which  they  consider  it." — 

"  Before  we  can  penetrate  the  thoughts,  and  discover  the  charac- 
ter, of  persons  with  whom  we  are  in  company,  we  usuaHy  observe 
at  first  a  watchful  and  cautious  reserve.  But  to  be  relieved  from 
the  necessity  of  observing  this  restraint  in  following  Swedenl)org,  re- 
present to  yourselves  the  following  happy  assemblage  of  qualities  : 
an  excellent  memory,  a  penetrating  understanding,  a  quick  concep- 
tion, and  the  soundest  judgment,  united  to  an  insatiable  desire  for  ma- 
king the  most  certain  attainments  in  Philosophy,  in  almost  all  bran- 
ches of  the  Mathematics,  in  Natural  History,  in  Chemistry,  in  Anat- 
omy, and  finally  in  Theology  ;  not  to  mention  the  Oriental  and  Euro- 
pean languages,  in  which  he  was  well  versed.  Observe  in  him  well 
formed  habits  acting  in  concert  with  the  dictates  of  reason,  especially 
in  regard  to  the  admirable  order  in  which  he  ahvays  arranged  his 
ideas. — Represent  to  yourselves  the  best  heart  and  the  best  charac- 
ter;  which  are  evidenced  by  the  rules  he  laid  down  for  the  government 
of  his  own  thoughts  and  conduct,  as  I  have  found  them  noted  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  his  manuscripts.  They  are  as  follows  :  '  1.  To  read 
often,  and  to  meditate  well  upon,  the  Word  of  God.  2.  To  be  always 
resigned  and  contented  under  the  various  dispensations  of  Provi- 
dence. 3.  To  observe  always  a  propriety  of  behaviour,  and  to  keep 
the  conscience  clear  and  void  of  offence.  4.  To  obey  whatisordain- 
ed  ;  to  discharge  with  fidelity  the  duties  of  one's  employment ;  and  to 
do  everything  that  depends  on  one's  self ;  to  be  useful  to  all,  without 
exception.' — Behold  here  the  picture  of  Swedenborg's  inward  state 
of  mind!  None  but  such  as  are  blinded  by  prejudice  can  either 
think  or  say  that  it  is  not  a  true  likeness,  or  can  fail  to  recognise  in  it 
the  man  himself." 

"  He  lived  single,  but  he  was  never  dull.  He  enjoyed  such  ex- 
cellent health,  that  he  scarcely  ever  experienced  the  least  indisposi- 
tion. Always  filled  with  an  inward  content,  he  under  all  circum- 
stances possessed  his  soul  in  peace  ;  and  he  led  a  life  in  the  highest 
degree  happy,  till  the  moment  that  nature  demanded  her  rights." 

"  He  possessed  a  sound  judgment  upon  all  occasions  :  he  saw  every- 
thing clearly,  and  expressed  himself  well  on  every  subject.     The 
most  solid  memorials,  and  the  best  penned,  at  the   Diet  of  1761,  on 
matters  of  finance,  were  presented  by  him." — Count  Hopkins. 
11* 


126  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMEx\T  NECESSARY 

tion  whatever,  but  that  on  which  the  same  imputation 
was  thrown  against  an  infinitely  greater  character.  "  He 
hath  a  devil  and  is  mad:  why  hear  ye  him  ?"*  Such  was 
the  salutation  with  which  the  Divine  Truth,  in  person, 
was  assailed,  when  ''  he  came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own 
received  him  not."  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself 
was  reproached  as  insane  by  the  leaders  of  the  profess- 
ing church  of  that  day:  and  even  his  own  kindred  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh  had  so  little  conception  of  his  true  char- 
acter, that  when  he  began  to  display  it  by  mighty  words 
and  works,  "  they  said,  He  is  beside  himself  And  they 
went  forth  to  lay  hold  on  him,"!  for  the  purpose  of  put- 
ting him  under  restraint,  as  a  person  of  disordered  mind. 
So  little  capable,  when  in  the  darkness  of  its  sensual 
perceptions,  is  the  human  mind,  of  distinguishing  the 
most  exalted  wisdom  from  insanity!  No  wonder  then 
that  the  proclaimer  of  genuine  truth  now  should  be  deri- 
ded with  similar  reproaches.  ''  The  disciple  is  not  above 
his  Master,  nor  the  servant  above  his  Lord;  if  they  call 
the  Master  of  the  house  Beelzebub,  how  much  more 
them  of  hi.s  household!"!;  Such  were  the  prophetic 
warnings  by  which  the  Lord  prepared  his  disciples  for 
the  treatment  they  were  to  expect:  and  the  experience 
of  distant  ages  has  proved  their  truth.  When  the  Apos- 
tle pleaded  the  cause  of  Christianity  before  Agrippa 
and  Festus,  the  Roman  governor  replied  with  the  ex- 
clamation, "  Paul,  thou  art  beside  thyself;  much  learn- 
ing doth  make  thee  mad:"^  and  so,  in  our  times,  a  man 
who  has  been  favored  with  a  degree  of  illumination  as 
much  superior  to  that  of  modern  Christians  in  general  as 
was  the  divine  knowledge  of  Paul  to  the  darkness  which 
then  overspread  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  is  assailed  with 
the  same  cry,  and,  v/hile  his  attainments  in  science  are 
admitted,  it  is  pretended  that  his  studies  had  ruined  his 
faculties.  By  the  Candid  and  Reflecting,  a  sufficient  an- 
swer to  this  charge  will  be  found  in  his  writings,  v/hich, 
though  a  period  of  twentytwo  years  intervened  between 
the  publication  of  the  first  of  his  theological  works  and 
the  last,  exhibit  the  most  perfect  consistency  of  senti- 
ment throughout,  while  they  are  all  written  with  a  regard 
to  the    most  orderly  and  methodical  arrangement,   and 

^  John  X.  20.     t  Mark  iii.  21.      J  Matt.  x.  24,  25.     §  Acts  xxvi.  24. 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  127 

display  in  their  author  the  most  acute  powers  of  rea- 
son and  extraordinary  strength  of  memory;  which  last 
faculty  is  evinced  by  the  numerous  references  to  other 
parts  of  his  works  which  abound  in  them  all.  These, 
certainly,  are  qualities  which  do  not  usually  attend  the 
ebullitions  of  insanity.  Indeed,  it  is  impossible  to  pre- 
tend to  find  in  the  composition  and  manner  of  Sweden- 
borg's  writings  any  tokens  of  derangement:  even  ad- 
versaries admit  that  they  exhibit  plain  marks  of  a  very 
superior  mind:  and  they  only  pronounce  him  mad,  be- 
cause his  works  contain  such  statements  as  they  might 
naturally  be  expected  to  contain,  should  his  claims  to 
acceptance,  as  a  heaven  commissioned  teacher,  be  true. 
I  had  here,  however,  almost  forgotten  the  Rev.  Mr 
Beaumont;  for  he,  willing  to  be  thought  a  more  pro- 
found critic  than  any  who  had  gone  before  him,  objects 
to  the  manner,  as  well  as  the  matter,  of  Swedenborg's 
writings.  He  complains  that  there  is  in  them  "  an  al- 
most endless  tautology  and  repetition  either  of  expres- 
sion or  meaning,"  which,  he  adds,  "  is  to  me  another 
plain  indication  of  the  author's  disordered  intellects," 
But  Mr  B.  is  determined  to  see  nothing  in  the  writings 
of  the  Author,  or  at  least  to  produce  nothing  from  them, 
in  which  he  cannot  find  a  pretence  for  censure:  and  this 
charge  of  tautology  is  of  a  piece  with  all  the  rest.  The 
adversaries  ofSwedenborg  in  general  only  look  into  his 
works  for  such  things  as  may  serve  to  give  a  v/rong  im- 
pression. These  they  set  forth  as  specimens  of  the  whole, 
for  the  purpose  of  deterring  others  from  examining  for 
themselves;  carefully  suppressing  those  excellent  and 
truly  sublime  and  heavenly  sentiments,  upon  numerous 
subjects  of  the  first  importance,  which  even  they  cannot 
help  feeling,  and  half  acknowledging  that  those  writings 
contain.  Thus,  respecting  some  sentiments  of  our  au- 
thor, which  Mr  B.  cannot  deny  to  be  excellent,  he  has 
these  remarks:  ''What  the  Baron  says  respecting  truth 
and  good,  and  especially  what  he  says  respecting  faith 
and  charity,  [these  are  fundamental  things,  by  the  by,} 
as  also  his  opinion  respecting  man's  free-will  and  pre- 
destination, accords  in  general  with  my  sentiments,  and 
may  perhaps  be  read  with  some  advantage."*     We  here 

*  Pp.  7,  8. 


128  A    HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

have,  to  be  sure,  an  admirable  specimen  of  what  Pope 
calls  to 

"  damn  with  faint  praise  ;" 

yet  we  may  be  satisfied  that  there  must  be  something 
truly  striking  in  what  Swedenborg  delivers  on  these 
subjects,  to  extort  even  such  praise  from  a  man  deter- 
mined, when  looking  at  his  excellences,  to  apply  the 
wrong  end  of  the  telescope,  while  for  discovering  what 
might  be  distorted  into  blemishes,  he  uses  the  strongest 
magnifier  he  could  find.  Accordingly,  he  immediately 
adds,  "  But  on  these  subjects  the  Bible  may  always  be 
consulted  with  infinitely  more  success;  therefore  quit- 
ting the  Bible  for  Baron  Swedenborg's  works,  is  some- 
thing like  leaving  good  wine  for  mere  water."  Can  any 
thing  be  more  futile?  Must  he  not  have  been  sadly  at  a 
loss  for  an  objection  to  offer  such  a  one  as  this?  All 
that  has  ever  been  written  in  illustration  of  the  Bible,  is, 
it  seems,  mere  waste  paper!  The  Bible  not  only  contains 
all  things  necessary  to  salvation,  but  all  so  plainly  stat- 
ed, that  every  reader,  learned  or  unlearned,  may  com- 
prehend the  whole  without  assistance!  However,  fear- 
ing that  the  weakness  of  this  remark  must  be  obvious  to 
every  one,  and  to  evince  that  he  only  dislikes  all  "tau- 
tology and  repetition"  in  others,  he  repeats  the  charge 
made  in  the  page  preceding:  "If,"  he  adds,  "  we  will 
read  uninspired  books  upon  these  subjects,  there  are 
plenty  to  be  found  more  compact  and  consolidated  than 
the  Baron's  writings,  which  are  frequently  both  diffuse 
and  incoherent."  This  last  imputation  I  utterly  deny. 
I  defy  any  man  to  produce  a  fair  example  of  incoherence 
from  any  part  of  our  author's  numerous  volumes.  If 
there  be,  occasionally,  some  diffuseness  in  his  style,  it 
arose  from  his  desire  to  avoid  ambiguity;  he  doubtless 
had  rather  seem  prolix  than  obscure.  But  prolixity  is 
by  no  means  the  general  characteristic  of  his  composi- 
tion; it  in  fact  seldom  appears  but  in  the  uniform  and 
formal  mode  in  which  he  introduces  his  comments  on 
each  clause  of  the  subject  in  his  expositions  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. Besides,  who  can  judge  of  his  style,  that  only 
knows  it  through  the  very  disadvantageous  medium  of  a 
literal  translation?  In  the  original,  it  is  often  so  con- 
densed, that  it  is  difficult  fully  to  render  the  sense  in 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  129 

English  without  greatly  weakening  it  by  dilution.  I  ap- 
peal as  an  example  to  the  Latin  of  the  work  ''  On  the 
New  Jerusalem,  and  its  Heavenly  Doctrine;"  which  is 
a  production  truly  admirable  for  the  consolidated  weight 
of  its  matter,  and  the  correspondingly  brief  and  senten- 
tious character  of  its  style.  But  in  respect  to  works  like 
his,  in  which  the  matter  is  everything,  it  only  displays 
a  previous  determination  to  be  displeased,  when  an  op- 
ponent descends  to  cavil  about  the  manner:  and  a  man 
who  wishes  to  be  regarded  as  a  friend  of  religion  in  gen- 
eral, ought,  before  he  resorts  to  such  cavils,  to  consider 
whom  they  will  hit  besides.  It  is  long  ago  since  Jerome 
noticed  the  solecisms  of  Paul;  and  it  is  well  known  that 
none  of  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament  possessed  a 
good  Greek  style:  but  who  that  pretends  to  a  grain  of 
candor  regards  this  as  derogating  from  the  importance 
of  their  writings?  Who  will  say  tl!at,  because,  as  to  the 
composition,  their  epistles  are  not  faultless,  there  is  rea- 
son to  impute  "  disordered  intellects"  to  the  Apostles? 
Let  Swedenborg's  writings  be  looked  at  for  their  senti- 
ments, and  be  judged  of  by  them:  and  we  fear  not  to 
assert,  that  they  will  be  found  to  contain  a  system  of  the- 
ology, which,  instead  of  being,  like  that  of  his  oppo- 
nents, at  open  variance  with  half  the  Bible,  and  really  at 
variance  with  all  the  rest,  is  in  perfect  harmony  with 
the  whole;  and,  what  is  no  less  important,  a  system 
which,  differently  from  all  others,  harmonizes  all  the 
Bible  with  itself. 

Most  unjust  then,  in  every  respect,  is  the  representa- 
tion which  Mr  B.  gives  of  the  writings  of  Swedenborg. 
It  is  fabled  of  the  cruel  Medea,  that  to  stop  her  incensed 
father  in  his  pursuit,  she  tore  her  tender  brother  Absyr- 
tes  limb  from  limb,  and  strewed  the  way  with  his  man- 
gled remains:  thus,  also,  is  Swedenborg  treated  by  his 
adversary,  to  turn  the  sincere  seeker  from  the  pursuit  of 
truth.  Mr  B.  probably  exults  in  the  dexterity  with 
which  he  has  performed  this  feat;  for  he  has  received 
for  it  loud  rJaudits  (uttered,  I  trust,  in  ignorance)  from 
several  of  the  theological  Magazines.  Cheered  by  the 
commendation,  he  probably  says  in  his  heart,  something 
like  what  the  notorious  T.  Paine  has  said  in  his  "  Age 
of  Reason,"  on  completing  a  not  dissimilar  exploit:  "  I 
have  now  gone  through  the  Bible,   as  a  man  would   go 


130  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

through  a  wood,  with  an  axe  on  his  shoulder,  and  fell 
trees:  Here  they  lie:  and  the  priests,  if  they  can,  may 
replant  them.  They  may  perhaps  stick  them  in  the 
ground  again,  but  they  will  never  grow."  So  easy  is  it, 
by  overlooking  the  design  of  the  whole  together,  and 
taking  detached  passages  out  of  their  connexion,  to  hold 
up  to  ridicule  anything  whatsoever,  even  the  eternal 
Word  of  truth  itself;  and  so  easy  is  it  likewise  for  men, 
when  they  have  done  this,  to  persuade  themselves  that 
the  objects  of  their  scorn  deserve  it.  This  is  just  what 
the  Anti-Swedenborghas  done  with  the  illustrious  Svve- 
denborg  and  his  writings:  it  creates  deformities;  and  then 
calls  upon  its  readers  to  bestow  on  them  their  contempt. 

"  Trunca  sed  ostendens  disjectis  corpora  membris, 
Aspice  ait." — 

And  this  is  not  more  the  case  with  that  part  of  the  work 
which  contains  Mr  B.'s  own  conclusions  and  delinea- 
tions, than  with  that  which  is  entitled,  ".  Sundry  Ex- 
tracts from  the  writings  of  Baron  Swedenborg."  If 
''  Sundry"  means  sundered^  the  title  is  truly  descriptive. 
A  scrap  is  taken  from  one  place,  and  a  scrap  from  ano- 
ther, while  all  the  explanations  necessary  for  the  under- 
standing of  them  are  omitted:  and  the  reader  is  solici- 
ted to  condemn  the  author  on  account  of  the  grotesque 
dress  in  which  his  antagonist  presents  him.  Suppose 
a  man  were  to  steal  into  the  wardrobe  of  a  prince,  and 
cutting  off  a  snip  from  one  elegant  garment,  and  a  snip 
from  another,  were  to  patch  them  together  in  the  form 
of  a  fool's  coat:  what  should  we  think  of  him,  if  he  were 
to  exhibit  his  motley  compound,  his  thing  of  shreds  and 
patches,  as  a  dress  of  the  prince's,  instead  of  acknow- 
ledging that  it  was  merely  his  own.^  Just  as  good  an 
idea  would  such  a  piece  of  patchwork  present  of  a  royal 
robe,  as  do  the  extracts  furnished  by  our  adversaries  in 
general,  and  Mr  B.  in  particular,  of  the  writings  of 
Swedenborg.  They  endeavor,  by  garbled  quotations, 
to  make  him  appear  ridiculous  or  unintelligible;  and  then 
they  call  upon  the  public  to  pronounce  him  mad.  Return 
however  the  fragments  to  their  proper  places,  and  read 
them  in  their  proper  order;  and  the  reason  of  the  whole 
will  appear:  and  then  his  writings,  instead  of  lending 
any  countenance    to  the  imputation  of  insanity,  com- 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  131 

pietely  refute  it,   and  evince   his  heaven   born  intelli- 
gence.* 

*  We  will  here  add  some  illustrations  connected  with  the  above 
subject. 

It  has  given  much  pain  to  the  receivers  of  the  doctrines  communi- 
cated in  the  Writings  of  Swedenborg,  that  the  circulation  of  the  re- 
port of  his  insanity,  should  have  been  materially  promoted  by  a  man 
so  much  entitled  to  respect  as  the  late  Rev.  Mr  Wesley.  It  is  how- 
ever certain,  that  in  the  part  which  he  took  in  the  affair,  he  was 
completely  imposed  upon  by  the  Minister  of  the  Swedish  Chapel  in 
London,  Mr  Mathesius,  who  was  Swedenborg's  personal  and  violent 
enemy  ; — and  I  am  providentially  enabled,  by  some  documents  which 
have  recently  come  into  my  hands,  to  trace  the  progress  of  Mr  Wes- 
ley's mind  in  regard  to  Swedenborg,  in  such  a  manner,  as  completely 
to  neutralize  his  authority  in  the  unfavorable  conclusion  which  he, 
at  last,  adopted  :  for  1  am  enabled  to  shew,  that,  in  that  conclusion, 
Mr  Wesley  stands  in  direct  opposition  to  Mr  Wesley  himself;  and 
that  his  first  judgment  was  formed  upon  far  better  evidence  than  his 
last.  It  appears  certain,  that  Mr  Wesley  was  at  one  time  inclined  to  re- 
ceive Swedenborg's  testimony  in  the  fullest  manner  ;  and  this  because 
he  had  had  induhitahle  experience  of  his  supernatural  knoiclcdgc. 

Among  Mr  Wesley's  preachers,  in  the  year  1772,  was  the  late 
Mr  Smith,  a  man  of  great  piety  and  integrity,  who  afterwards  be- 
came one  of  the  first  ministers  in  our  church.  Having  heard  a  cu- 
rious anecdote,  said  to  rest  on  his  authority,  I  wrote  to  Mr  J.  I.  Haw- 
kins, the  well-known  Engineer,  who  had  been  intimately  acquaint- 
ed with  Mr  Smith,  to  request  an  exact  account  of  it.  The  following 
(a  Uttle  abbreviated)  is  his  answer  :  it  is  dated  Feburary  6th,  1826. 

"  Dear  Sir, — In  answer  to  your  inquiries,  I  am  able  to  state,  that 
I  have  a  clear  recollection  of  having  repeatedly  heard  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Smith  say,  about  the  year  1787  or  1788,  that  in  the  latter  end  of 
February,  1772,  he,  with  some  other  preachers,  was  in  attendance 
upon  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  taking  instructions  and  assisting  him  in 
the  preparations  for  his  great  Circuit,  which  Mr  V/esley  was  about 
to  commence  :  that  while  thus  in  attendance,  a  letter  came  to  Mr 
Wesley,  which  he  perused  with  evident  astonishment :  that,  after  a 
pause,  he  read  the  letter  to  the  company  ;  and  that  it  was  coached 
in  nearly  the  following  words  :  [the  letter  was  most  probably  in  Latin  : 
but  Mr  Wesley,  no  doubt,  would  read  it  in  English :] 

Great  Bath  Street,  Cold  Bath  Fields,  Feb  —  1772. 

'  Sir, — I  have  been  informed  in  the  world  of  spirits  that  you  have 
a  strong  desire  to  converse  with  me  ;  I  shall  be  happy  to  see  you  if 
you  will  favor  me  with  a  visit. 

'  I  am,  sir,  your  humble  Servant, 

'  Eman^.  Swedenborg.' 

"  Mr  Wesley  frankly  acknowledged  to  the  company,  that  he  had 
been  very  strongly  impressed  with  a  desire  to  see  and  converse  with 
Swedenborg,  and  that  he  had  never  mentioned  that  desire  to  any  one. 

"  Mr  Wesley  wrote  for  answer,  that  he  was  then  closely  occupied 
in  preparing  for  six  months'  journey,  but  would  do  himself  the  plea- 
sure of  waiting  upon  Mr  Swedenborg  soon  after  his  return  to  London. 

"  Mr  Smith  further  informed  me.  that  he  afterwards  learned  from 
very  good  authority,  that  Swedenborg  wrote  in  reply,  that  the  visit 


132  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

IV.  The  other  principal  objection  generally  made 
against  the  authority  of  Swedenborg,  is,  that  he  perform- 

proposed  by  Mr  Wesley  would  be  too  late,  as  he,  Swedenborg, 
should  go  into  the  world  of  spirits  on  the  29th  day  of  the  next  month, 
never  more  to  return. 

"  Mr  Wesley  went  the  Circuit,  and  on  his  return  to  London,  [if 
not,  a«  is  most  probable,  before,]  was  informed  of  the  fact,  that  Swe- 
denborg had  departed  this  life  on  the  29th  of  March  preceding. 

*'  This  extraordinary  correspondence  induced  Mr  Smith  to  ex- 
amine the  writings  of  Swedenborg;  and  the  result  was,  a  firm  con- 
viction of  the  rationality  and  truth  of  the  heavenly  doctrines  promul- 
gated in  those  invaluable  writings,  which  doctrines  he  zealously 
labored  to  disseminate  during  the  remainder  of  his  natural  life. 

"  That  Mr  Smith  was  a  man  of  undoubted  veracity,  can  be  tes- 
tified by  several  persons  now  living,  besides  myself;  the  fact  there- 
fore that  such  a  correspondence  did  take  place  between  the  Honora- 
ble Emanuel  Swedenborg  and  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  is  established 
upon  the  best  authority. 

"  On  referring  to  Mr  Wesley's  printed  journal  it  may  be  seen, 
that  he  left  London  on  the  1st  of  March  in  the  year  1772  ;  reached 
Bristol  on  the  3d,  Worcester  on  the  14th,  and  Chester  on  the  29th, 
which  was  the  day  of  Swedenborg's  final  departure  from  this  world. 
Mr  Wesley,  in  continuing  his  circuit,  visited  Liverpool,  and  various 
towns  in  the  north  of  England,  and  in  Scotland,  returning  through 
Northumberland  and  Durham  to  Yorkshire,  and  thence  through 
Derbyshire,  Staffordshire,  and  Shropshire,  to  Wales  ;  thence  to  Bris- 
tol, Salisbury,  Winchester,  and  Portsmouth,  to  London,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  10th  of  October  in  the  same  year,  having  been  absent 
rather  more  than  six  months. 

'•'  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  accede  to  your  request  and  allow  ray  name 
to  appear  as  your  immediate  voucher. 

"  I  remain.  Dear  Sir,  your's  very  sincerely, 

"John  Isaac  Hawkins." 

To  this  I  can  add,  that  the  Rev.  Mr  Sibly  has  assured  me,  that  he 
has  heard  Mr  Smith  relate  the  above  anecdote  ;  and  that  he  could 
mention,  if  necessary,  several  other  persons  still  living  wlio  must 
have  heard  it  too.  He  fully,  also,  supports  Mr  Hawkins's  statement 
in  re  ard  to  Mr  Smith's  veracity.  Thus  it  is  impossible  to  doubt 
that  Mr  Smith  affirmed  it;  and  it  is  difficult  to  suppose  that  he  could 
either  wilfully  or  unintentionally  misrepresent  an  ip.cident  which 
must  have  impressed  him  so  strongly,  and  of  which  the  consequent 
change  of  his  sentiments  formed  a  collateral  evidence. 

It  may  be  here  proper  to  observe,  that  the  Translation  of  Sweden- 
borg's little  work  on  the  intercourse  between  the  Soul  and  the  Body 
had  been  published  not  long  previously  (in  1770.)  with  a  Preface  by 
the  translator,  addressed  to  the  Universities,  urging  the  author's 
claims  to  attention.  This  Mr  W.  had  probably  seen,  and  had  thence 
conceived  the  desire  he  acknowledges,  to  see  the  author.  The  dis- 
covery that  this  desire,  though  it  had  remained  a  secret  in  his  own 
breast,  was  known  to  Swedenborg,  must  have  affected  him  very 
strongly :  it  must  have  convinced  him  that  Swedenborg's  assertion, 
that  he  possessed  the  privilege  of  conversing  with  angels  and  spirits, 
was  true  :  and  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  he  would  conclude  from 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  133 

ed  no  miracles.  This  has  been  replied  to  by  his  ad- 
vocates with  the  most  convincing   arguments.*   Among 

it,  that  the  cause  assigned  by  Swedenborg  of  his  having  received 
this  privilege,  namely,  that  he  might  be  qualified  for  a  holy  office  to 
which  he  had  been  called,  was  true  also.  There  is,  further,  the 
otrongest  evidence  that  Mr  Wesley's  conviction  went  as  far  as  this. 
I  had  sometime  ago  heard  an  anecdote  demonstrating  it  related  in 
CO-  versation  by  the  Reverend  and  venerable  Mr  Clowes,  Rector  of 
St  John's,  Manchester,  whose  high  character  for  every  quality  that 
can  adorn  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  and  of  course  for  veracity  among 
the  rest,  is  acknowledged  by  all  who  know  him  (and  few  are  known 
through  a  wider  circle — by  those  Vvho  difTer  from  him  as  well  as  by 
those  who  agree  with  him  in  theological  sentiment ;)  I  therefore  late- 
ly wrote  to  him.  to  request  a  written  statement  of  the  particulars, 
with  leave  to  publish  it  with  his  name  ;  with  which  request  he  kind- 
ly complied.  The  part  of  his  letter  (dated  January  19,  1828)  which 
relates  immediately  to  this  subject,  is  as  follows: 

'•  My  very  dear  Sir, — In  full  and  free  compliance  with  your  wish- 
es, as  expressed  in  your  kind  favor  of  the  16th,  I  send  you  the  follow- 
ing Memoir  of  the  late  Mr  Wesley,  as  comm.unicated  to  me  by  my 
late  pious  and  learned  fi lend,  Richard  Houghton,  Esq.  of  Liverpool, 
who  was  also  intimately  acquainted  with  Mr  Wesley,  insomuch  that 
the  latter  gentleman  never  visited  Liverpool  without  passingsome  time 
with  Mr  Houghton.  As  near  as  I  can  recollect,  it  was  in  the  spring  of 
the  year  1773  that  I  received  the  communication,  one  m.orning,  when 
I  called  on  Mr  Houghton  at  his  own  house,  and  at  a  time  too,  when 
the  v/ritiijgs  of  the  Hon.  E.  S.  began  to  excite  public  attention.  These 
writings  were  at  that  time  unknown  to  myself,  but  not  so  to  my 
friend  Mr  Houghton,  w  ho  was  in  the  habit  of  correspondence  with 
the  Rev.  T.  Hartley  on  the  subject,  and  was  very  eager  to  make  me 
acquainted  with  them.  Accordingly,  in  the  course  of  cur  conver- 
sation, my  friend  took  occasion  to  mention  the  name  of  Mr  Wesley, 
and  the  manner  in  which  he,  on  a  late  visit  to  Liverpool,  had  ex- 
pressed his  sentiments  on  those  Writings.  '  We  may  now  (said  Mr 
Wesley)  burn  all  our  books  of  Theology.  God  has  sent  us  a  teacher 
from  heaven,  and  in  the  doctrines  of  Swedenborg  we  roay  learn  all 
that  is  necessary  for  us  to  know.'  " 

The  manner  in  which  Mr  Wesley  here  espressed  himself  was 
strong  indeed ;  so  much  so,  that  v/ere  it  not  certain  that  his  mind 
must  have  been  at  that  time  under  a  very  powerful  influence  in 
Swedenborg's  favor  he  might  be  suspected  to  have  spoken  ironically. 
This  I  observed  in  my  letter  to  Mr  Clowes  ;  to  which  he  replies. 
"  I  can  hardly  conceive,  from  the  manner  in  which  it  was  express- 
ed by  Mr  Houghton,  that  irony  had  anything  to  do  with  it :"  and 
Mr  Houghton  must  have  known  with  certainty  whether  it  had  or 
not.  But  an  examination  of  dates  will  shew,  that  Mr  Wesley's 
statement  to  that  gentleman  was  made  while  the  impression  from 
Swedenborg's  supernatural  communication  was  acting  in  all  its 
force.  Mr  Clowes'  interview  with  Mr  Houghton  was  in  the  spring 
of  1773  :  Mr  Wesley  does  not  appear  to  have  been  at  Liverpool  be- 
tween that  time  and  the  10th  of  the  preceding  October,  when  he  re- 
turned from  his  last  great  circuit.     In  that  circuit  he  did  visit  Liver- 

*  See  in  particular  Kindmarsh's  Letters  to  Priestley,  Let.  i. 
12 


134  A    HUMAN    INSTRUMENT    NECESSARY 

other  considerations  it  has  been  urged,  that  if  no  human 
instrument  who  has  a  divine  commission  is  to  be  accept- 

pool,  and  was  there  early  in  April,  1772.  This  then  must  be  the 
"  late  visit  "  mentioned  by  Mr  Houghton  ;  and  this  was  within  six 
weeks  after  he  had  received  the  extraordinary  communication  from 
Swedenborg.  This  is  certain  :  and  it  is  also  highly  probable,  that,  at 
the  time  of  his  visiting  Liverpool,  the  effect  of  that  communication 
was  greatly  strengthened,  by  the  verification  of  the  announcement, 
which,  we  have  seenj  Swedenborg  had  made  to  him  of  the  day  of  his 
own  death.  He  died,  as  he  had  announced,  on  the  29th  of  March ; 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  a  notice  of  it  appeared  in  the  papers : 
it  would  thence,  it  is  highly  probable,  be  known  to  Mr  Wesley  when 
he  was  at  Liverpool,  about  a  fortnight  afterwards  :  and  the  words  he 
then  uttered  to  Mr  Houghton  will  not  appear  stronger  than  he  might 
be  expected  to  use,  when  two  such  recent  and  completely  incontro- 
vertible proofs  of  the  truth  of  Swedenborg's  pretensions  were  ope- 
rating on  his  mind. 

Yet  Mr  Wesley,  thus  miraculously  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Swe- 
denborg's pretensions  (as  far,  at  least,  as  relates  to  his  intercourse 
with  the  spiritual  world,)  afterwards  exerted  himself  to  check  the 
extension  of  the  same  conviction  to  others  !  in  which,  however,  he 
only  afforded  a  proof  of  Swedenborg's  constant  assertion,  that  mira- 
culous evidence  is  inefficacious  for  producing  any  real  or  permanent 
change  in  a  man's  confirmed  religious  sentiments.  When  Mr  Wes- 
ley uttered  the  strong  declaration  respecting  Swedenborg  and  his 
writings,  he  spoke  of  the  latter,  rather  from  what  he  expected  to  find 
them,  than  from  what  he  actually  knew  them  to  be.  The  probabi- 
lity is,  that  he  at  this  time  knew  little  more  of  them  than  he  had 
learned  from  the  tract  on  "  the  Intercourse  :"  which  contains,  pro- 
bably, nothing  that  he  would  except  against;  especially  as  it  is  cer- 
tain, as  there  will  be  opportunity  of  shewing  in  the  next  Section,  that 
even  the  treatise  on  Heaven  and  Hell,  which  gives  the  main  results 
of  Swedenborg's  spiritual  experience,  was  not  condemned  by  him. 
But  when  he  came  to  find  that  Swedenborg's  writings  militated 
against  some  of  the  sentiments  that  he  had  strongly  confirmed  in  his 
own  mind  ;  these,  which  were  his  interior  convictions,  gradually 
threw  off  the  exterior  conviction  arising  from  merely  outward 
though  miraculous  evidence  :  hence,  even  before  the  end  of  the 
year  1773,  as  Mr  Houghton  afterwards  informed  Mr  Clowes,  he  in- 
serted in  his  journal  a  sarcasm  on  one  of  Swedenborg's  "  Memorable 
Relations ;"  and  hence  he  afterwards  accepted  the  false  report  of  Ma- 
thesius,  and  promoted  its  circulation.  Indeed,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that,  then,  such  a  statement  as  that  of  Mathesius  would  operate  as  a 
relief  to  him  ;  for  though  he  could  not  receive  the  whole  of  Sweden- 
borg's doctrines,  the  positive  proof  he  possessed  of  the  author's  su- 
pernatural knowledge  must  often  have  disturbed  him  in  his  rejection 
of  them:  he  must  therefore  have  been  glad  to  meet  with  anything 
which  could  make  him,  with  regard  to  that  rejection,  better  satisfied 
with  himself.  Finally,  perhaps  other  causes  assisted  to  strengthen 
Ills  oppos  tion.  When  first  he  published  the  slanderous  report  (in 
1781,)  he  still  seems  to  have  had  some  misgivings;  hence  he  pre- 
faced it  with  the  acknowledgment,  that  Swedenborg  was  "  a  very 
great  man"  and  that  in  his  writings  "  there  are  many  excellent 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  135 

ed  in  that  character  till  he  has  performed  some  miracles, 
then  were  the  Jews  fully  justified  in  rejecting  the  Baptist: 
for  it  is  expressly  said,  "John  did  no  miracle."*  Mr 
Beaumont  endeavors  to  evade  this  argument  by  a 
strange  misrepresentation.  "As  Baron  ^  Swedenborg," 
he  observes,  with  his  accustomed  wit  and  elegance, 
"took  upon  himself  to  act  the  part  of  a  mighty  man  of 
valor  in  revolutionizing  heaven,  earth,  and  hell,  he 
ought  in  any  wise  to  have  certified  his  credentials  for 
such  a  mighty  undertaking  by  a  few  notable  miracles. 
Moses,  who  headed  a  new  dispensation,  wrought  many 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  Jesus  Christ,  in  his  own  name 
wrought  numberless  miracles,  signs  and  wonders.  Whilst 
the  Baron,  proclaiming  himself  to  be  at  the  head  of  a  dis- 
pensation which  shall  last  for  ever,  does  not  justify  his 
heavenly  mission  by  even  a  single  miracle!  The  baron's 
friends  excuse  their  leader  by  saying  that  John  the  Bap- 

things  :"  when  he  afterwards  seemed  less  indined  to  admit  so  much, 
although,  no  doubt,  he  still  spoke  sincerely,  a  little  human  frailty, 
perhaps,  influenced  his  judgment.  It  is  well  known  that  Mr  W. 
was  always  prompt  in  taking  measures  to  put  down  anything  like 
rebellion  among  his  disciples, — anything  that  tended  to  the  diminu- 
tion of  his  authority  over  their  minds.  Now  it  is  a  certain  fact,  that 
Mr  Smith  was  not  the  only  one  of  his  pupils  who  began  to  think  the 
doctrines  of  the  JNew  Church  superior  to  those  of  Methodism  :  among 
his  other  preachers  who  came  to  the  same  conclusion,  were  Mr 
James  Hindmarsh,  Mr  Isaac  Hawkins,  and  Mr  R.  Jackson,  deceased, 
with  Mr  J.  W.  Salmon  and  Mr  T.  Parker,  still  living  ;  all  of  whom 
became  active  promoters  of  those  doctrines  :  it  therefore  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  that  Mr  W.  at  last  took  the  most  decisive  steps  to  check 
their  further  extension  among  his  flock. 

The  above  appears  to  me  to  be  a  fair  and  highly  probable  account 
of  the  progress,  on  this  subject,  of  Mr  Wesley's  mind.  It  is  not, 
however,  here  offered  with  the  view  of  casting  any  imputation  on 
his  memory.  I  have  little  doubt,  that,  though  some  erroneous  sen- 
timents confirmed  in  his  understanding  prevented  him  from  accept- 
ing, in  this  world,  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church,  his  intentions 
were  upright,  and  there  was  a  principle  of  real  good  in  his  heart, 
which,  in  the  other  life  would  throw  off  the  errors  which  obscured 
it,  and  enable  him  to  receive  the  truth.  This,  it  is  probable,  was 
seen  by  Swedenborg,  and  was  the  reason  of  his  inviting  him  to  an  in- 
terview :  and  thus,!  trust,  though  Mr  Wesley  acted  chiefly  as  an 
opponent  to  him  while  on  earth,  he  may  now  be  associated  with  him 
in  heaven.  Let  not  then  his  followers  still  confirm  themselves 
against  Swedenborg's  testimony  by  what  Mr  Wesley  published 
against  him  :  let  them  rather  weigh,  without  Mr  Wesley's  prejudi- 
ces the  reasons  he  had,  and  might'have  bad,  for  coming  to  n  finally 
favorable  conclusion ;  and  let  them  accept  the  sentiments  which,  I 

*  John  X.  41, 


136  A    HUMAN    INSTRUMENT    NECESSARY 

tist  wrought  no  miracles.  Tliis  plea  is  weak  and  futile 
John  was  not  at  the  head  of  anew  dispensation;  he  was 
the  harbinn^cr,  not  the  anlhor  of  the  Christian  religion — 
the  author  was  the  Son  of  God,  *  Ihe  author  and  finisher 
of  our  faith!'  "*  So  then  it  is  allowed,  that  if  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  not  Swedenborg,  is  at  the  head  of  the 
New  Jerusalem-Dispensation  of  Christianity  as  he  was  of 
the  Dispensation  of  it  announced  by  the  Baptist,  the  per- 
formance of  miracles  is  not  to  be  demanded  of  the  har- 
binger; and  what  a  monstrous  perversion  of  truth  is  it  to 
pretend  any  otherwise, — to  represent  Swedenborg  as 
guilty  of  the  atrocious  blasphemy  of  "  proclaiming  him- 
self to  be  at  the  head  of  the  dispensation"  which  he 
announces,  in  the  same  manner  as  Jesus  Christ  was  at 
the  head  of  the  dispensation  then  commenced!  or  even 
to    claim  anything  similar  ibr  Moses! 

But  supposing  the  only  reason  why  John  the  Baptist 
did  not  perform  miracles,  to  have  been,  because  he  point- 
ed to  another  person  who  did;  what  could  be  the  reason 
that  the  ancient  prophets  did  not  perform  them?  for  of 
all  the  sixteen  prophets,  w^ith  the  Psalmist  in  addition, 
there  is  not  one,  except  Isaiah,  of  whom  any  miracle  is 
recorded. t  I'o  say  that  it  was  necessary  for  Moses  to 
do  miracles  because  he  "  headed  a  new  dispensation," 
but  was  not  iequisite  in  those  who,  under  the  same  dis- 
pensation, came  with  divine  messages  after  him.  is  a 
'^  plea  weak  and  futile"  indeed.  How  did  the  iiii.acles 
of  Moses  authenticate  the  testimony  of  all  who  suc- 
ceeded him  ?  Did  their  acknowledging  his  miracles,  and 
living  under  the  dispensation  which  he  was  the  Human 
Instrument  for  introducing,  evince  that  what  they  deliv- 
ered was  equally  truer  As  well  might  we  say,  that  be- 
cause the  Pope  acknowledges  the  miracles  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  lives  under  the  dispensation  which  he  was 
the  Divine  Agent  in  introducing,  he  possesses  the  infal- 
libility to  which  he  pretends,  and  all  his  bulls  are  to  be 
received  for  what  they  claim  to  be,  the  dictates  of  divine 

trust,  Mr  Wesley  no->v  holds, instead  of  adhering  (o  those  which  he, 
in  all  probability,  has  rejected. 

*  Preface,  pi),  xi,  sii. 
t  Jeremiah  predicted  the  death,  v.'ithin  a  year,  of  Hananiah  ; 
Daniel,  with  two  private  mdividuals,  was  delivered  from  the  fur- 
nace, and  alone,  afterwards,  from  the  lion's  den  :  and  Jonah  was  sa- 
ved by  and  from  the  fish  :  but  none  of  these  were  miracles  wrought 
by  themselves,  or  of  a  nature  to  insure  their  credit  as  prophets. 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  137 

inspiration.  Would  the  Jews  have  been  justified  in  re- 
fusing to  admit  into  their  canon  more  than  half  the  books 
which  we  at  present  find  there,  bccjiiise  the  writers  of 
them  did  not  work  miracles  ?  If  not,  there  must  be  some- 
thing in  the  character  of  every  divine  communication 
which  carries  its  own  evidence  with  it;  and  it  must  be 
upon  this  evidence,  and  not  for  outward  si^ns  and 
tokens,  that  He  from  whom  it  comes  requires  that  it 
should  be  received.  But  it  will  perhaps  be  urged,  that 
the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  without  miracles  wrought  by 
the  prophet,  sufficiently  evidences  its  origin.  To  a  cer- 
tain extent,  this  is  true:  but  of  what  use  is  this  ex  post 
facto  evidence  to  those  to  whom  the  divine  message  was 
first  delivered,  and  whose  most  important  interests  fre- 
quently depended  on  their  immediately  believing  it.'' 
Besides,  though  many  things  contained  in  the  prophetic 
writings  have  since  been  fulfilled,  so  obscure  are  they, 
frequently,  in  their  literal  sense,  that  the  learned  dispute 
whether  some  of  them,  yea,  whether  any  part  of  whole 
books,  have  been  fulfilled  yet:  and  so  far  from  compul- 
sive is  even  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  fulfilment  of 
any  of  them,  that  infidels,  we  know,  reject  the  whole  to- 
gether. 

As,  then,  it  is  incontrovertible,  that,  even  under  the 
Jewish  dispensation, — the  only  dispensation  to  which 
miracles  properly  belonged,  it  was  not  usually  that  the 
Divine  Being  authenticated  the  writings  even  of  his  most 
distinguished  prophets  by  any  immediate  external  token; 
much  less,  surely,  was  it  to  be  expected,  that  the  deliverer 
of  such  communications  as  Swedenborg's,  if  true,  as  they 
purport  to  be,  should  appear  with  a  wonder-working  rod, 
and  bring  in  a  new  age  of  prodigies  and  signs.  And, 
in  regard,  to  the  evidence  which  prophecies  derive  from 
their  fulfilment,  we  have  seen  that  the  testimony  of 
Swedenborg  has  received  an  authentication  which  is 
fully  equivalent  and  of  an  exactly  similar  kind;  for  that 
the  visible  effects  of  the  Last  Judgment  which  he  an- 
nounced, speak  as  plainly  in  his  behalf,  as  any  fulfilled 
prophecy  whatever. 

But  let  us   look  a  little  more  particularly  at  the   cir- 
cumstances attendino;  the  introduction  of  the  IMosaic,  the 
Christian,  and  the  Renewed   Christian  or  New  Jerusa- 
lem Dispensations;  and  see  if  we  cannot  discern  satis- 
'    12* 


138  A    HUMAN    INSTRUMENT    NECESSARY 

factory  reason  why  miracles  accompanied  the  two  former 
but  cannot  form  proper  accompaniments  of  the  last.  By 
what  means,  then,  other  than  miracles,  was  it  possible  for 
Moses  to  have  accomplished  the  external  mission  on  which 
he  was  sent?  The  Israelites  were  slaves  in  Egypt,  and 
in  no  condition  to  emancipate  themselves  by  force:  by 
what  means  then  but  miraculous  ones  was  it  possible  to 
compel  the  stubborn  will  of  Pharaoh  to  let  them  go? 
All  the  miracles  wrought  by  Moses,  or  rather  by  Jeho- 
vah throngh  his  almost  passive  instrumentality  (for  not 
one  was  attempted  by  Moses  but  in  compliance  with  a 
positive  injunction),  had  for  their  object  the  deliverance 
of  Israel  from  Egypt,  their  preservation  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  their  introduction  into  Canaan,  as  the  subjects 
of  a  species  of  political  government  which  has  been 
properly  called  a  theocracy,  in  which  Jehovah  himself 
filled  the  station  of  a  temporal  king:  and  not  one  was 
performed  which  was  not  obviously  necessary  to  these 
purposes.  As  far  as  concerned  the  Jews,  external  ob- 
jects alone  were  in  view:  and  by  the  miracles  wrought, 
external  objects  alone  were  attained:  the  one  were  ex- 
actly adapted  to  the  other;  and,  as  external  performan- 
ces, to  nothing  else.  That  they  all  represented  spiritual 
things,  and  are  recorded  in  the  Divine  Word  for  our 
continual  instruction,  which  is  the  second  and  higher 
end  designed  in  them,  does  not  alter  their  nature  as  ex- 
ternal performances.  Having  once  been  wrought  and 
recorded  by  inspiration,  they  teach  their  spiritual  lesson 
lor  ever;  and  to  convey  this  benefit  it  is  totally  unneces- 
sary that  they  should  be  v/rought  again. 

Now  v»ho  does  not  see  that  between  Moses,  the  human 
Instrument  in  delivering  a  people  from  temporal  slavery, 
— their  conductor  through  a  series  of  temporal  wander- 
ings, amid  the  destitution  of  a  wilderness,  to  colonize 
a  temporal  country, — and  the  necessary  Human  Instru- 
ment for  announcing  the  truths  connected  with  the  se- 
cond and  purely  spiritual  advent  of  the  Lord;  no  sort  of 
parallel  can  exist.  All  that  was  done  by  Moses,  was 
in  his  situation,  and  for  the  immediate  natural  and  re- 
mote spiritual  objects  to  be  obtained,  indispensable;  but 
to  require  the  same  works  as  were  done  by  him  of  the 
herald  of  the  Second  Advent,  would  be  like  requiring  of 
the  present  inhabitants  of  England  the  task  of  the  back- 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  139 

woodsmen  of  America;  tasks  which  were  necessary 
when  England  too  was  a  forest,  but  which  are  equally 
unnecessary  and  inr^oracticable  now  that  the  forest  is  no 
more,  but  meadows  and  corn-fields  occupy  its  place. 
For  the  Jews  indeed,  who  hope  again  to  be  gathered  from 
among  the  nations  and  re-conducted  to  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, it  is  perfectly  natural  to  expect  the  great  prophet 
who  is  to  deliver  them  to  bear  a  rod  more  powerful  than 
that  of  Moses,  and  to  smooth  the  road  by  a  series  of 
miracles;  having  only  a  natural  kingdom  in  view  they 
are  consistent  in  looking  for  its  establishment,  by  super- 
natural moans,  indeed,  but  productive  of  none  but  nat- 
ural effects:  but  for  Christians, — for  spiritual  masters  in 
Israel,  who  know  that  their  Lord's  kingdom  is  avowed- 
ly not  of  this  world,  to  expect  that,  at  his  Second  Com- 
ing more  truly  to  establish  it,  he  will  again  send  prophets 
such  as  Moses  to  astonish  with  external  prodigies,  is  to 
betray  conceptions  as  gross  as  those  of  Nicodemus;  it 
is  to  loathe  the  manna  in  comparison  of  the  garlic  and 
leeks,  and  to  sigh  again  for  the  carnalities  of  Egypt. 
When,  however,  God  himself  appeared  on  earth  incar- 
nate, he  was  preceded,  his  coming  loudly  proclaimed, 
and  the  duty  of  repentance  as  necessary  to  prepare  for 
him  authoritatively  preached,  by  a  "  harbinger"  who 
''did  no  miracle;"  but  of  whom,  nevertheless,  it  is  sta- 
ted, that  "  all  things  which  he  spake  of  this  man  [Jesus] 
were  true  ;"*  plainly  enough  instructing  us,  that  mira- 
cles are  by  no  means  necessary  to  authenticate  the  most 
important  communications  and  doctrines;  and  that  a 
teacher  divinely  commissioned  may  point  to  the  Lord, 
and  piepare  men  to  receive  him,  who  does  not  brinor 
outward  signs  to  prove  whence  he  comes.  Nor  is  the 
force  of  this  instance  at  all  evaded  by  saying,  that 
''  John  was  not  at  the  head  of  a  new  dispensation;"  that 
''  he  was  the  harbinger,  not  the  author,  of  the  Christian 
religion;"  and  that  "the  author  was  the  Sonof  God,"  who 
"  wrought  numberless  miracles,  signs,  and  wonders." 
This  argument  would  be  very  good,  and  would  make 
strong  against  Swedenborg,  were  it  meant  to  prove  and 
could  it  prove  with  truth,  what  alone  it  tends  to  prove,  that 
the  design  of  the  miracles,  signs,  and  wonders,  wrought 

*  John  X,  41. 


140  A    HUMAN    INSTRUMENT    NECESSARY 

by  Jesus, was  to  induce  men  to  believe  the  simple  preaching 
of  John!  But  when  the  fact  is  the  reverse;  when,  before 
Jesus  had  begun  to  shew  himself,  there  "  went  out  unto 
John  Jerusalem,  and  all  Judea,  and  all  the  region  round 
about  Jordan,  and  were  baptized  of  him  in  Jordan,  con- 
fessing their  sins;"*  and  when,  without  a  previous  be- 
lief in  the  simple  preaching  of  John,  men  could  not,  not- 
withstanding the  "  miracles,  signs,  and  wonders,"  be 
brought  to  believe  in  Jesus;t  the  conclusion  is  indefeas- 
ible, that  miracles  are  not  necessary  to  the  authentica- 
tion of  truth:  and  it  will  not  be  easy  to  deny,  that,  when 
they  were  performed,  it  was,  as  to  the  outward  perform- 
ance, for  a  very  different  purpose.  But  Jesus  Christ 
himself,  the  great  teacher  of  all,  ^'  in  his  own  name 
wrought  numberless  miracles,  signs,  and  wonders." 
Assuredly  he  did:  for  how  could  God  Incarnate  do 
otherwise?  When  God  appeared  in  a  natural  body  on 
earth,  it  was  reasonable  to  expect  that  his  power  would 
be  exerted,  and  his  benefi/sence  displayed,  in  operations 
extending  even  to  the  bodies  of  his  creatures,^ — that 
from  the  person  in  which  he  dwelt  virtue  must  go  out,'l 
adapted  to  operate  upon  the  persons  of  those,  who,  by 
faith  in  him,  were  capable  of  admitting  it.  But  it  hence 
follows,  by  parity  of  reason,  that  at  his  coming  again, 
not  in  the  flesh  but  in  the  spirit,  his  power  would  be 
exerted,  and  his  beneficence  displayed,  in  operations 
upon  the  spirits  of  his  creatures, —  that  the  virtue  which 
would  then  go  out  from  him  would  be  the  proper  opera- 
tion of  his  Holy  Spirit,  affecting  and  enlightening  the 
minds  of  those,  who,  by  their  acknowledgment  of  him 
should  be  capable  of  admitting  it.  Of  what  kind,  also, 
were  the  external  miracles  which  he  performed  while  in 
the  flesh?  They  consisted  almost  entirely  of  cures 
wrought  upon  the  sick  and  possessed,  and  of  the  sudden 
production,  to  support  or  refresh  his  creatures,  of  bread, 
or  of  wine.   "  The  blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame 

*  Mat.  iii.  5,6. 

t  "And  all  the  people  that  heard  him,  and  the  publicans,  justified 
God,  being  baptized  with  the  baptism  of  John  :  but  the  Pharisees 
and  lawyers  rejected  the  counsel  of  God  against  themselves  being 
not  baptized  of  him.''     Luke  vii.  29,  30. 

X  Luke  vi.  19. 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  141 

walk;  the  lopers  are  cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear;  the 
dead  are  raised  up,  and  the  poor  have  the  gospel  preach- 
ed to  them."*  Who  does  not  see  in  these  operations, 
something  shadowed  out  of  far  more  importance  than 
the  relief  of  the  body?  Who  does  not  behold,  in  him 
who  wrought  them,  the  Physician  of  the  soul,  the  Dis- 
penser of  spiritual  health  and  life?  Who  then  can  doubt 
that  the  miracles  to  be  looked  for  at  his  spiritual  coming, 
are  such,  and  such  only,  as  those  he  performed  while  in 
the  flesh  represented?  that  they  will  consist  in  the  open- 
ing of  the  spiritual  eye,  or  the  illustration  of  the  under- 
standing, and  the  straightening  of  the  spiritual  limb,  or 
the  restoration  to  order  of  the  natural  mind  and  life;  in 
the  cleansing  of  the  spiritual  leper,  or  of  those  who, 
through  ignorance,  falsify  the  truth,  and  the  opening  of 
the  spiritual  ear,  or  the  bringing  into  obedience  of  the 
disobedient  will;  in  the  raising  up  of  the  spiritually  dead, 
or  of  those  who  are  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  and  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  to  the  poor,  or  the  communi- 
cation to  tlie  ignorant  of  the  instructions  of  the  life- 
giving  Word?  Thus  the  miracles  wrought  by  the  Lord 
at  his  coming  in  the  flesh,  by  no  means  lead  to  the  con- 
clusion, that  similar  miracles  must  be  performed  at  his 
coming  in  the  spirit:  they  in  fact  prove  such  an  expect- 
ation to  be  unfounded:  but  they  intimate  that  divine 
works  may  then  be  looked  for,  as  far  superior  to  the 
former  in  importance,  as  the  soul  is  superior  to  the 
body. 

Still  then  we  find  that  there  was  nothing,  in  the  cir- 
cumstances attending  the  introduction  of  former  dispen- 
sations, that  authorizes  the  expectation  of  miracles  to  be 
performed  by  the  Human  Instrument  who  should  an- 
nounce the  last.  If,  as  we  see,  the  external  miracles 
performed  by  the  Lord  at  his  first  coming,  do  not  lead 
to  the  infetrence,  that  he  v.'ould  perform  miracles  of  the 
same  kind  at  his  second;  in  no  degree  whatever  can  they 
lead  to  the  inference,  that  such  would  be  performed  by 
his  "  harbinger."  Who  v^ill  be  so  mad  as  to  run  a  par- 
allel between  the  Lord  himself  and  any  Human  Instru- 
ment whatever?  Who  then  will  advance  the  monstrous 
false  inference;  that  because  the  Incarnate  God  wrought 

*  Mat.  xi.  5, 


142  A    HUMAN    INSTRUMENT    NECESSARY 

miracles  in  person,  the  Human  Announcer  of  his  second 
coming  should  do  the  same? 

But  in  answer  to  this  it  will  probably  be  urged,  that 
the  Lord  not  only  wrought  miracles  himself,  but  em- 
powered his  apostles  to  do  so  too.  He  did  so,  most 
certainly;  and,  in  both  cases,  for  the  same  reason. 
"  The  Word  was  made  flesh,"*  and  shewed  himself  to 
men;  and,  as  the  natural  consequence,  he  wrought  mir- 
acles that  affected  men's  bodies.  To  extend  the  know- 
ledge of  this  fact,  he  sent  forth  Apostles;  and  by  them, 
for  the  same  reason,  he  wrought  similar  miracles.  To 
evince  "  that  Jesus  Christ  was  come  in  the  flesh,"!  was 
the  main  point  of  their  testimony:  the  burthen  of  their 
preaching,  was,  "  repentance  towards  God,  and  faith  to- 
ward our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ;"J  that  is,  faith  that  he,  who 
was  known  on  earth  by  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  was 
Ihe  Word  made  flesh,  was  God  Incarnate.  It  was  to 
this  that  they  were  to  "bear  witness."^  There  was 
then  precisely  the  same  occasion  that  "the  Word  made 
flesh"  should  work  miracles  affecting  the  bodies  of  men 
by  the  witnesses  of  the  great  truth,  that  the  Word  was 
made  flesh,  as  that  he  should  do  them  by  his  own  imme- 
diate agency.  It  still  was  not  the  Apostles,  but  the  In- 
carnate God,  who  was  the  sole  operator:  and  the  opera- 
tions in  both  cases  were  effects  from  the  same  cause, 
and  were  but  parts  of  the  same  whole.  To  argue,  then, 
from  what  was  done  in  this  way  by  the  preachers  of  the 
Lord's  advent  in  the  flesh,  to  what  ought  to  be  done  by 
the  Human  Instrument  for  announcing  his  advent  in  the 
spirit,  is  again  to  draw  a  complete  false  inference.  The 
legitimate  conclusion  is  directly  the  reverse.  We  have 
seen  that  there  must  be  the  same  difference  between 
the  operations  produced  at  the  Lord's  second  coming 
and  at  the  first,  as  there  is  between  the  whole  nature  of 
the  second  advent  and  of  the  first.  We  have  seen  that 
as  it  was  agreeable  to  order  that  the  Lord  at  his  coming 
in  a  human  body  should  perform  cures  on  the  human 
bodies  of  men,  it  would  be  contrary  to  order  that  he 
should  do  th(;  same  at  his  coming  in  the  spirit  and  power 
of  his  Word,  but  that  then  the  internal  operations  should 

*  John  i.  14.  t  IJohn  iv.  3.         :{:  Acts  xx.  21. 

§  John  XV.  27,  Acts  i.  8,  22,  iv.  33. 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  143 

take  place  of  which  the  external  were  figures.  We  now 
see  that  it  was  agreeable  to  order  that  the  preachers  of 
his  coming  in  the  flesh  should  do  similar  miracles  to 
those  which  he  performed  himself.  Would  it  not  then 
be  a  palpable  violation  of  all  order,  that  the  announcer 
of  his  spiritual  coming  should  do  such  miracles  as  were 
performed  by  those  "  who  companied  with  the  apostles 
all  the  time  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out  among 
thein;'''' — and  were  "ordained  to  be  witnesses  with  them 
of  his  resurrection?"*  Is  it  not  a  most  clear  requirement 
of  order  and  consistency,  that  the  miracles  to  be  perform- 
ed by  the  announcer  of  the  Lord's  coming  in  the  spirit 
and  power  of  his  Word,  should  be  such,  as  the  Lord 
Himself  will  alone  then  perform?  miracles  relating  sole- 
ly to  the  illumination  of  the  understanding  and  the  rec- 
tification of  the  heart,  and  which  cannot  appear  as  mir- 
acles before  the  outward  eye?  These  are  only  to  be 
performed  by  instruction  in  genuine  truths  drawn  from 
the  Holy  Word :  and  of  such  instruction,  by  such  truths, 
there  is  ample  store  in  the  writings  of  Swedenborg. 
These  are  found,  by  the  humble  and  sincere,  efficacious 
to  the  performance  of  genuine  miracles.  The  restora- 
tion of  sight  to  the  naturally  blind  is  productive  of  less 
delight,  than  many  have  experienced  in  the  enjoyment 
of  that  clear  light  of  truth,  which,  through  the  instrumen- 
tality of  those  writings,  has  burst  on  their  mental  sight. 
Through  their  means,  the  spiritually  lame  has  leaped  as 
a  liart,  and  the  tongue  of  the  spiritually  dumb  has  burst 
out  into  singing;  for  through  their  means,  notwithstand- 
ing the  state  of  desolation  into  v/hich  the  professing 
church  of  the  day  has  declined,  in  the  wilderness  waters 
have  broken  out,  and  streams  in  the  desert. t 

Again  then  we  see,  from  all  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing the  introduction  of  former  dispensations,  that  there 
is  no  reason  whatever  for  supposing  that  the  Human 
Instrument  appointed  to  announce  the  last,  should 
accompany  his  announcement  by  the  performance  of 
natural  miracles;  on  the  contrary,  they  afford  the  most 
conclusive  grounds  for  presuming  that  the  time  is  com- 
pletely gone  by  in  which  the  performance  of  miracles 
could  form  any  part  of  the  divine  economy. 

^  Acts  i.  21,  22.  t  Isa.  xxxv.  6. 


144  A    HUMAN    INSTRUMENT    NECESSARY 

But,  further:  who  that  frees  himself  for  a  moment  from 
the  shackles  of  prejudice,  and  allows  himself  to  think 
from  judgment,   and  from  a  regard  to  the  present  state 
of  mankind,  does  not  see  herein  the   wisdom   of  the  Al- 
mighty?    Who  is  there   that  seriously  believes,  that  a 
dispensation  ushered  in  by  miracles  would  be  at  all  suit- 
ed to  the  present  state  of  the  world?     Does  any  one 
actually  think,   that  a  man  who  should  appear   working 
miracles,  would  at  this  day  obtain  any  serious  attention? 
When  miracles  were  literally  performed,  it  was  among 
a  people  to  whose  habits  of  thinking  they  were  congenial. 
The  Jews  scarcely  looked  upon  miracles  as  things  extra- 
ordinary.    Among  a  people  then  of  such  a  turn  of  mind, 
it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  some  of  the  messengers 
of  Jehovah  would  be  authorized  to  gratify  the  popular 
expectation  by  miracles.     But  if,  as  is  certain,  to  the 
performance  of  miracles,  a  disposition  to  acknowledge 
their  reality    is  necessary  in  the  persons  among  whom 
they  are   wrought;  if,  as  is  certain,  the  incredulity  of 
his  countrymen  was  capable  of  restraining  the  wonder- 
woiking  energies  of  the    Saviour  in  person;*  who  can 
imagine  that,  in  these  times,  in  this  age  of  incredulity, 
Divine  Wisdom  would  rest  its  communications  on  such 
a  basis  ?     Would  not,  in  these  days,  a  man  working  mir- 
acles be  treated  as  a  mountebank?     And  would   he  be 
respected  much  more,  even  by  those   who  believed  his 
miracles  to  be  real?     Would    not   the  cures  he  might 
perform  be  resolved   into  collusion,  or,  where  this   was 
proved  to  be    impossible,  be  imputed  to  the  agency  of 
unknown  natural  causes,  or  of  that  power  which  modern 
infidelity    has    invested  with    omnipotence, — the   more 
than  magic  power  of  imagination?     It  may  be  affirmed, 
that  a  repetition   of  the  miracles  of  the   Saviour  himself 
would  at  this  day,  and  in  Christian  countries,  obtain  but 
little  attention:  they  were  all  such  as  might  either  be  de- 
nied altogether    or  imputed  to  one  of  the  above  causes: 
and  if  he  did  not  choose  to  silence  his  numerous  gain- 
sayers  by  the  more  terrible  prodigies  of  Moses,  we  can- 
not suppose    that  he  would  cause  such  interruptions  of 
the  course  of  nature  to  be  produced  by  the  herald  of  his 

*  "  And  he  could  there  do  no  mighty  work,  save  that  he  laid  his 
hands  on  a  few  sick  folk,  and  healed  them."  (Mark  vi.  n.) 


AND  THEREFORE  GRAXTED.  145 

s«cond  advent.  Indeed,  it  n-iay  be  doubted  whether 
even  the  prodigies  exhibited  by  Moses  would  now  be 
believed.  Were  a  modern  teacher  to  conduct  an  army 
from  Calais  to  Dover,  few,  probably,  would  be  convinced, 
by  any  testimony,  that  they  had  marched  through  the 
sea.  Many,  in  fact,  who  would  be  loth  to  be  thought 
infidels,  confess  as  much.  Even  they  who  are  loudest 
in  demanding  miraculous  evidence,  often,  almost  in  the 
same  breath,  admit  its  inefficacy  in  ahering  the  princi- 
ples of  a  man's  religious  belief:  while  they  object  to 
Swedenborg  that  he  did  no  miracles,  they  inform  us, 
that  they  would  not  have  believed  him  if  he  had.  Thus 
the  celebrated  Dr  Priestley,  after  having  said  a  good 
deal  on  the  indispensable  necessity  of  miracles  to  au- 
thenticate a  divine  commission,  at  last  overturns  his 
whole  argument  by  this  ebullition  of  Unitarian  firmness: 
"  Should  any  being,  in  the  complete  form  of  an  angel, 
tell  me  that  God  had  the  form  of  a  man,  and  that  this 
God  was  Jesus  Christ,  I  should  tell  him  that  he  was  a 
lying  spirit P"**  And  the  Rev.  W.  Roby,  relying  on  the 
stability  of  the  decrees  which  Calvin  has  framed  for  the 
Almighty,  affirms,  that  '^  even  miracles  themselves  could 
not  confirm  the  truth  of  Swedenborgian  doctrines. "t 
What  inconsistency!  to  call  upon  us  to  authenticate  our 
doctrines  by  miracles;  and  then  acknowledge  that  they 
agree  with  us  in  thinking  that  miracles  are  not  proper 
evidences  of  doctrinal  truth! 

This  sentiment, — that  miracles  are  not  the  proper 
evidences  of  doclrinal  truth,  is,  assuredly,  the  decision  of 
the  Truth  itself;  as  is  obvious  from  many  passages  of 
Scripture.  We  have  seen  that  the  design  of  the  miracles 
of  Moses,  as  external  performances,  was,  not  to  instruct 
the  Israelites  in  spiritual  subjects,  but  to  make  them 
obedient  subjects  of  a  peculiar  species  of  political  state. 
And  though  the  miracles  of  Jesus  Christ  collaterally 
served  as  testimonies  to  his  character,  he  repeatedly 
intimates  that  this  was  not  their  main  design,  and  that 
they  were  only  granted,  in  this  respect,  in  accommoda- 
tion to  the  hardness  of  Jewish  hearts:  and  he  condemns 

^  Letters  to  the  Members  of  the  A^ew  Jerusalem  Church,  p.  60. 
t  jJnti-  Swedenborgianism,  &c.  p.  27. 
13 


146  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

and  laments  the  gross  state  of  the  people  that  could  re- 
quire them.  Fie  even  says  to  a  disciple,  in  reference  to 
his  own  manifestation  of  himself  after  his  resurrection, 
^'  Thomas,  beca»ise  thou  hast  seen  me,  thou  hast  be- 
lieved :  blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have 
believed:"*  clearly  teaching,  how  superior  is  the  state 
of  mind  which  can  see  truth  without  external  evidences, 
above  that  which  demands  them.  So  when  the  noble- 
man of  Capernaum  besought  Jesus  to  heal  his  sen, 
though  he  complied,  he  answered,  in  terms  expressive 
of  displeasure  at  such  requirements,  "  Except  ye  see 
signs  and  wonders,  ye  will  not  believe."!  At  another 
time,  more  plainly  still,  he  says,  that  it  is  "  a  wicked 
and  adulterous  generation  (that)  seeketh  after  a  sign;"J 
on  which  occasion,  according  to  Mark,  "  he  sighed 
deeply  in  his  spirit. "§  How  characteristic  is  that  touch 
of  the  Apostle,  '•  The  Jews  require  a  sign,  and  the 
Greeks  seek  after  wisdom !"||  (where  by  wisdom  he 
means  the  elegance  and  refinement  of  Grecian  litera- 
ture :)  may  we  not  say,  that,  generally  speaking,  these 
Jews  and  Greeks  are  well  represented  by  the  religion- 
ists and  persons  indifferent  to  religion  of  the  present 
day?  Even,  then,  while  performing  miracles,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  Divine  Energist  did  not  regard  them  as  the 
proper  evidences  of  spiritual  truth,  and  conceded  them, 
thus  far,  with  reluctance.  Hence,  likewise,  he  so  often 
commanded  those  on  whom  his  miracles  were  wrought 
to  keep  them  secret  ;1^  a  proceeding  which  would  be 
unaccountable  indeed,  if  he  meant  them  as  proofs  of  the 
truth!  For  the  evidence  of  truth  he  taught  men  to  look 
at  the  truth  itself,  and  to  the  witness  it  finds  to  itself  in 
the  duly  prepared  heart.  He  does  not  say,  ''  If  any 
man  see  a  miracle,  he  will  know  that  the  doctrine 
taught  by  the  operator  is  of  God;"  but,  ^'  If  any  man 
ivilL  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  docti  ine  whether  it 
be  of  God."** 

*  John  XX.  29.  I  John  iv.  48. 

i  Matt.  xvi.  1,  xii.  30,  Luke  xi.  29.  §  Ch.  viii.  12. 

II  1  Cor.  i.  22. 
IT  Matt.  viii.  4,  ix.  30,  xii.  16  xvii.  9,  Mark  v.  43,  Luke  v.  14. 
**  John  vii.  17. 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  147 

But  Truth  Itself  carries  still  farther  its  disownment 
of  miracles  as  its  proper  evidences.  Although  the 
Lord,  at  his  advent  in  the  flesh,  did  signs  and  wonders 
in  condescension  to  the  hard-heartedness  of  the  Jews 
among  whom  he  appeared,  he  never  intimates  that 
either  he  or  his  messengers  shall  repeat  such  signs  at 
his  second  coming;  on  the  contrary,  what  is  quite  con- 
clusive, he  seems  thenceforth  to  relinquish  them  to  the 
powers  of  darkness.  Thus,  in  reference  to  the  time  of 
his  second  coming,  he  says,  "  There  shall  arise  false 
Christs,  and  false  prophets,  and  shall  shew  great  signs 
and  tconders ;  insomuch  that,  if  it  were  possible,  they 
shall  deceive  the  very  elect."*  So  Paul,  illustrating  a 
prophecy  of  Daniel,  notices  a  wicked  one  to  be  reveal- 
ed, "whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan,  with 
all  power,  and  signs,  and  lijing  iD(mders.'''''\  So  the 
Apocalyptic  Divine,  speaking  of  the  second  beast,  says 
that  "  he  doeth  great  wonders, — and  deceiveth  them 
that  dwell  on  the  earth  by  means  of  those  mirncles  which 
he  had  power  to  do. "J  And  in  another  place  he  men- 
tions "the  spirits  of  devils"  as  ^^  working  miracles.^^^ 
Is  it  not  then  evident,  that,  after  the  time  of  the  Lord's 
advent  in  the  flesh,  no  miracles  were  to  be  expected, 
but  such  as  might  be  wrought,  or  pretended  to,  in  at- 
testation of  error  .''  It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  by  the 
miracles  here  predicted  we  are  not  to  understand  out- 
ward miracles,  but  a  certain  power  of  fascinating  the 
mind  as  if  by  enchantment,  on  those  who  yield  to  its  in- 
fluence, which  always  accompanies  deeply  infernal  de- 
lusions: yet  very  extraordinary  outward  occurrences  also, 
very  strongly  testified,  are  recorded  in  the  annals,  not 
only  of  Catholicism,  where  they  are  most  abundant, 
but  of  many  protestant  sects:  however,  be  the  nature 
of  the  predicted  diabolical  miracles  what  it  may,  mir- 
acles they  are  called  :  is  it  not  then  certain,  that,  had 
Swedenborg  wrought  any,  all  the  texts  just  adduced 
would  have  been  cited  by  his  adversaries,  and  his  per- 
formance of  the  signs  which  are  now  demanded,  would 
then  have  been  urged  as  infallible  tokens  that  his  mis- 

*  Matt.  xxiv.  24.  t  2  Thes.  ii.  9. 

t  Rev.  xiii.  13,  14.  §  Chap.  xvi.  14. 


148  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

sion  was  from  Satan?*  Has  not  then  the  Spirit  of  God 
"■  done  all  things  well,"  in  that,  after  having  predicted  no 
future  miracles  but  infernal  ones,  it  has  omitted  to  dec- 
orate the  Human  Instrument  for  communicating  its  last 
discoveries  with  those  questionable  insignia?! 

'  This  has  been  done  in  regard  to  the  extraordinary  instances  of 
the  reahty  of  his  communication  with  the  spiritual  world  which  have 
been  given  in  a  former  note.  The  author  of  "  the  Trial  of  the 
Spirits,"  &c.  speaking  of  some  of  these  as  adduced  by  Mr  Hind- 
marsh  in  his  "  Letters  toDr  Priestley,"  &c.  calls  them  '•'  instances  of 
supernatural  knowledge,  and  proofs  of  a  power  of  command  in  the 
world  of  spirits,  which  are  not  a  little  surprising;  and  adds,  "  there 
seems  to  be  no  possibility  of  denying  their  truth  as  to  facts."  (P. 
13.)  But  he  argues  from  it,  "  That  a  power  of  working  apparent 
miracles,  or  prodigies,  may,  on  some  occasions,  be  permitted  to  evil 
spirits,  and  their  wicked  instruments."  These  facts,  however, 
though  proofs  of  Swedenborg's  supernatural  knowledge,  were  not 
miracles,  but  natural  consequences  of  the  state  in  which  he  was 
placed,  and  which  was  required  to  enable  him  fully  to  see  the  cor- 
respondence between  spiritual  things  and  natural,  and  to  qualify  him 
for  giving  that  information  respecting  the  state  after  death,  the  igno- 
rance of  the  human  mind  respecting  it  at  the  present  day,  makes 
above  all  things,  desirable  and  necessary. 

t  Wishing,  as  far  as  possible,  to  avoid,  in  this  ap^il,  repeating 
what  has  been  said  before,  I  have  not,  in  the  above  statement  of  rea- 
sons why  no  miracles  were  performed  by  Swedenborrr,  dwelt  much 
upon  those  offered  by  Swedenborg  himself,  and  Vvhich  have  been 
most  urged  by  his  vindicators.  I  thus  have  not  urged  the  most  im- 
portant of  all, — their  tendency  to  close  the  rational  mind.  To  make 
the  subject  more  complete,  1  will  therefore  here  su^  ''''^.  an  extract 
from  an  address  drawn  up  by  me  for  a  certain  occasion  (but  not  used) 
in  the  year  1799 ;  at  which  time  I  had  not  read  anything  on  the 
question  but  what  is  contained  in  our  authors  own  writings,  with 
which  I  had  become  acquainted  the  preceding  yen*-.  There  is  more 
warmth  in  the  manner  than  I  should  now  use  ;  bui  this  the  reader 
will  excuse  in  a  youthful  production ;  written  too  at  a  time  when 
the  delight  accompanying  the  perception  of  new  truths  was  in  all  its 
freshness,  and  when  I  literally  was  filled  with  astonishment  that 
what  appeared  to  me  clearer  than  the  light  of  the  meridian  sun 
should  not  be  seen  by  others. 

'•'  Some,  probably,  will  sa}--,  '  Vr'hat  argument  can  induce  us  to 
believe  a  man  in  a  concern  of  this  nature  who  gives  no  visible  cre- 
dentials to  his  authority  ?  A  teacher  commissioned  from  on  high 
ought  to  have  the  power  of  working  miracles.  Had  we  seen  hfm 
raise  a  dead  corpse  to  life,  or  jump  unhurt  from  the  monument,  we 
might  have  believed  him  ;  but  without  such  proofs  as  these,  v,c  can- 
not.' But  let  us  ask  in  return,  Is  it  worthy  of  a  being  wearing  the 
figure  of  a  man  to  require  such  proofs  as  these  to  determine  his 
judgment  ?  Are  we  not  endowed  with  rationality?  Is  it  not  by  vir- 
tue of  this  celestial  spark  that  man  boasts  himself  a  man,  and  cliims 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  149 

I  trust  then  that  all  the  Candid   and  Reflecting    will 
agree  with  me    in  the  conviction,  that  Swedenborg,  by 

superiority  over  every  other  rank  of  animated  nature  ?  The  lower 
orders  of  creation  have  bodily  senses  as  well  as  we  :  they  can  see, 
hear,  feel,  taste,  and  smell :  and  if  we,  refusing  to  exercise  those 
faculties  which  we  possess  in  common  with  angels,  receive  only  such 
evidence  as  our  external  senses  can  grasp  ;  do  we  not  degrade  the 
dignity  of  our  nature,  deny  our  heavenly  origin,  and  reduce  ourselves 
to  a  level  with  the  beasts  that  grovel  on  the  ground  ?  The  beasts  act 
from  the  impulse  of  their  bodily  senses,  but  are  utterly  incapable  of 
seeing  from  reason  why  they  should  so  act :  and  it  might  easily  be 
shewn,  that  while  a  man  thinks  and  acts  under  the  influence  of  a 
miracle,  he  is  as  much  incapable  of  perceiving  from  any  rational 
ground  why  he  should  thus  think  and  act,  as  a  beast  is. 

"'What!'  our  opponents  will  perhaps  reply,  'Dare  any  one 
speak  thus  disrespectfully  of  miracles,  when  they  are  sanctioned  by 
the  testimony  of  the  Bible  ?  Was  it  not  entirely  by  miracles  that 
the  Jewish  Church  was  established  ?  Was  it  not  by  miracles  that 
the  Israelites  were  induced  to  believe  Moses  ?  Was  it  not  by  mira- 
cles that  they  were  governed  in  the  wilderness  ?  And  was  it  not  by 
miracles  that  the  prophets  [some  of  them]  testified  their  authority?  Do 
you  not  believe  these  facts  ? ' — Yes,  my  friends,  I  do  most  entirely 
believe  them  :  and  at  the  same  time  I  most  ardently  hope  that  none 
of  us  are  such  people  as  the  Jews  were ;  because  the  most  stupen- 
dous miracles  would  then  do  us  no  more  good  than  they  did  them. 
For  can  we  have  a  more  conclusive  evidence  of  the  inadequacy  of 
miracles  to  convince  a  man  to  his  real  benefit,  than  in  the  conduct 
of  that  people  ;  who,  notwithstanding  the  wonderful  things  which 
they  daily  saw,  were  continually  rebellious,  insomuch  that,  we  are 
informed,  they  were  stiff-necked  above  all  the  people  on  the  face  of 
the  earth? — '  If  then  the  Jews  were  not  amended  by  those  means, 
what  end  did  they  answer  ?' — Let  us  consider  what  end  was  answer- 
ed in  their  being  introduced  into  the  land  of  Canaan  :  for  how  can 
we  suppose  that  a  people  of  this  character  ever  constituted  a  real, 
spiritual  church  ?  *  And  how  can  we  imagine  that  they  could  ever 
be,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  the  express  favorites  of  God  ? — '  But  if  not, 
why  did  he  interpose  in  so  w^onderful  a  manner  to  deliver  them 
from  Egypt?' — We  answer:  They  were  delivered  from  Egypt, 
which  was  a  type  of  the  natural  state  of  man,  and  introduced  into 
Canaan,  which  was  a  type  of  his  spiritual  state,  that  they  might  re- 
present all  that  belongs  to  a  real  spiritual  church  by  their  ceremo- 
nial worship  and  particular  transactions;  and  that,  by  their  means,  a 
revelation  might  be  given  to  the  world,  which,  in  its  literal  ;  tnse, 
should  treat  of  their  affairs  and  of  those  of  the  neighboring  nations,  their 
wars,  rites,  and  customs ;  all  which  spiritually  signified  such  things 
as  relate  to  the  real  spiritual  church :  and  because  they  could  not  be 
brought  even  to  represent  such  a  church  by  superior  inducem.ents, 
thej' were  driven  and  forced  to  it  by  miracles;  which,  likewise, 
were  all  representatives  of  spiritual  subjects. 

*  See  what  is  said  on  this  subject  in  ''•  the  Plenary  Inspiration," 
&c.  p.  404  to  444. 

13* 


150  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

the  non-performance  of  miracles,  has  in  no  degree  weak- 
ened his  claims  to  attention,  but  that  he    would    have 

'^But  it  may  be  objected.  '  That  supposing  ilie  Jews  were  a  gross, 
external  people,  who  did  little  more  than  represent  a  spiritual  church, 
the  Christian  was  an  interior  dispensation  ;  and  yet  miracles  were 
wrought  at  its  establishment,  both  by  Christ  and  his  Apostles.' — But 
let  us  remember,  that  the  Lord  passed  his  whole  life  upon  earth 
among  the  Jews,  who,  being  such  a  people  as  has  just  been  describ- 
ed, required  testifications  of  this  sort;  which  here  also,  as  well  as 
in  the  case  of  the  miracles  wrought  by  Moses,  liad  a  spiritual  signi- 
fication. Besides,  the  Word  of  the  JNew  Testament,  wherein  they 
are  recorded,  was  yet  to  be  written  :  and  every  sickness  and  infirm- 
ity therein  described  to  have  been  healed,  was  representative  of 
some  evil  or  false  principle  which  only  the  divine  power  of  tlic  Lord 
is  able  to  remove.  If  this  were  not  the  reason,  why  is  not  this  pow- 
er continued  to  the  dignitaries  of  the  church  till  this  day  .'  We  see 
that  it  is  not :  we  find  that,  as  soon  as  the  Christians  were  entirely 
separated  from  the  Jews,  miracles  ceased. 

"  But  now,  at  the  opening  of  a  more  interior  dispensation  than  ei- 
ther of  the  former, — of  a  more  spiritual  form  of  the  everlasting  gos- 
pel,— no  miracles  are  performed  at  all.  Is  not  the  reason  yet  evi- 
dent ?  Let  me  ask  any  person  whatever,  whether  he  can  be  forced 
to  think  what  he  does  not  think,  or  to  love  what  he  does  not  love  ': 
It  is  true  that,  by  the  civil  laws  of  a  state,  or  anything  which  occa- 
.iltefts  fear,  a  man  may  be  forced  to  speak  what  he  does  not  think, 
^m  to  do  what  he  does  not  love  ;  yet,  notwithstanding  this,  he  does 
not  think  and  love  what  he  thus  says  and  does  •,  and,  were  the  con- 
straint removed,  he  would  immediately  speak  and  act  otherwise. 
Now,  tliough  such  conduct  as  this  may  indeed  answer  the  purposes 
of  the  civil  life,  do  we  not  see  that,  with  respect  to  the  spiritual  life, 
it  is  nothing?  A  man  may,  by  civil  and  ecclesiastical  cnactmentt^. 
be  restrained  frosn  speaking  against  the  truths  of  religion  and  out- 
wardly transgressing  its  laws;  yea,  he  may  be,  and  in  some  coun- 
tries is,  forced  to  acknowledge  and  obey  them  :  yet  if  his  knowledge 
Ciud  obedience  proceed  only  from  such  a  cause,  what  is  his  religion  ? 
It  is  evident,  that  unless  a  man  really  thinks  what  he  speaks  and 
loves  what  he  acts,  there  is  nothing  of  the  man  in  such  speech  and 
action.  Hence  it  may  appear,  that  the  essential  human  principle, 
or  that  by  virtue  of  which  man  is  man,  consists  in  the  liberty  of 
thinking  and  willing:  and  that  if  this  liberty  were  taken  from  him, 
w-hich  would  be  the  case  were  he  constantly  under  the  influence  of 
a  miracle,  he  would  no  longer,  properly  speaking,  be  a  man  at  all. 
If  w-e  see  a  beast  of  prey  destroy  another  animal,  do  we  reprobate 
him  as  guilty  of  moral  evil  ?  No  we  do  not :  we  are  sensible  that  he 
is  gratifying  a  natural  appetite,  which  he  has  no  liberty  of  will  to  re- 
sist. But  if  we  see  a  ruan  commit  an  act  of  cruelty  or  injustice,  we 
do  reprobate  him  as  guilty  of  moral  evil  :  we  are  sensible  that  reason 
might  have  taught  him  it  was  wrong,  and  that  he  was  at  liberty,  had 
he  pleased,  to  obey  her  dictates.  If  then  we  thus  confess  it  to  be 
these  faculties  which  raise  us  from  mere  animals  to  men,  how  ought 
we  to  disdain  to  seek  an  influence,  which,  by  depriving  us  of  them, 
■would  reduce  us  from  men  to  mere  animals !  And  such  is  the  influ- 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  151 

weakened  them  much  more  had  he  wrought  the  most 
"  notable"  ones.     Even  under  the  Mosaic  law,  abound- 

ence  of  miracles.  For  if,  when  we  have  rejected  a  truth,  the  opera- 
tion of  a  iriracle  force  us  to  acknowledge  it;  is  there  anything  of 
true  faith  in  such  acknowledgment  ?  True  faith  must  reside  in  the 
rational  mind  :  but  the  miracle,  acting  only  on  the  external  senses, 
actually  shuts  up  the  rational  mind  :  so  that,  astounded  in  a  stupid 
amaze,  we  become  utterly  incapable  of  looking  at  what  is  thus  forced 
upon  us  in  any  light  of  reason,  or  of  receiving  it  in  any  affection. 
Wherefore  the  miracle  becomes  quite  useless  :  for  finding  ourselves, 
while  its  impression  remains,  deprived  of  our  freedom, — bereaved  of 
the  faculties  which  constitute  us  men, — we  willingly  suffer  it  to 
wear  off":  and  thus  being  restored  to  our  liberty,  we  confirm  anew 
what  our  reason  dictates  ;  we  return  to  our  former  belief;  because 
it  is  what  we  think,  and  what  we  like  to  think.  But  that  we  may 
see  this  as  clearly  as  possible,  let  us  take  an  example.  Suppose  a 
man,  having  no  affection  for  goodness,  to  be  forced  by  a  miracle  to 
acknowledge  a  truth  which  he  otherwise  would  reject :  will  he  be- 
hold this  truth  with  pleasure,  even  though  it  teach  the  way  to  hap- 
piness ?  Assuredly  not.  And  why  ?  Because  he  wishes  to  find  hap- 
piness some  other  way.  For  this  (inasmuch  as  it  is  a  truth)  teache?, 
that,  to  be  truly  happy,  we  must  be  good,  and  renounce  the  pursuit 
of  such  enjoyments  as  are  grounded  in  the  love  of  evil :  but  he,  be- 
ing devoted  to  the  pursuit  of  such  enjoyments,  which  he  feels  as  his 
very  life,  will  regard  as  an  enemy  whatsoever  opposes  it.  Finding 
himself  therefore  under  an  irksome  restraint  in  the  prosecution  of 
his  favorite  pleasures,  from  the  monitory  voice  of  the  truth  he  has 
acknowledged,  he  will  shortly  reject  it  as  founded  in  error  ;  and  he 
will  deny  the  miracle  which  induced  his  belief,  by  persuading  him- 
self that  it  was  the  accidental  effect  of  some  natural  cause  with 
which  he  is  unacquainted  ;  or  perhaps,  that  it  proceeded  from  the 
agency  of  powers  which  delight  in  deceiving  mankind. 

"  Let  us  then  not  wish  to  have  our  minds  closed  by  miracles,  but 
let  us  open  them  by  rational  investigation.     If  we  are  desirous  to 
know  whether  the  doctrines  now  promulgated  are  consistent  with 
truth,  let  us  search  for  them  in  Moses  and  the  prophets ;  for  these 
are  they  which  testify  of  them ;  and  if  we  believe  not  Moses  and    ^ 
the  prophets,  neither  should  we  be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  - 
the  dead.     These  are  the  Lord's  own  words  ;  which  I  remind  you 
of,  to  evince,  that  the  reasons  I  have  offered  to  demonstrate  the  inu- 
tility of  miracles  as  evidences  of  spiritual  truth,  are  derived  from  Him 
who  cannot  err.     Let  us  remember  that  he  also  assures  us,  that  it  is    »> 
an  evil  and  adulterous  generation  which  seeketh  after  a  sign.     Let  '1^ 
us  remember  likewise,  and  tremble  lest  we  resemble  them,  that  the 
Jews,  who  were  such  a  generation,  were  not  convinced  by  the  signs 
when  they  beheld  them.     Of  this,  what  an  awful  instance  they  gave 
when  they  crucified  the  Lord !  •'  Come  down  from  the  cross,'  they 
cried  out,  '  and  we  will  believe  thee.'     Did  he  not  perform  the  mira- 
cle they  demanded  as  the  condition  of  their   faith  ?  Nay,  did  he 
not  perform  a  much  greater  miracle  ?  He  raised  his  glorified  body 
from  the  grave  :  the  Jews  knew  it : — and  they  bribed  the  guard  to 
say  that  it  had  been  stolen  by  his  disciples ! 


152  A  HUMAN  INSTRUMENT  NECESSARY 

ing,  as  that  dispensation  did,  with  outward  wonders, 
the  performance  of  them  is  never  laid  down  as  among 
the  credentials  of  a  prophet;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
their  exhibition  by  false  prophets  is  spoken  of  as  pos- 
sible and  probable:  "  If  there  arise  among  you  a  pro- 
phet or  a  dreamer  of  dreams,  and  giveth  thee  a  sign  or  a 
wonder,  and  the  sign  or  the  wonder  come  to  pass, 
whereof  he  spake  unto  thee,  saying.  Let  us  go  after 
other  gods  which  we  have  not  known,  and  let  us  serve 
them;  thou  shalt  not  hearken  unto  the  voice  of  that 
prophet,  or  that  dreamer  of  dreams."*  Thus  the  know- 
ledge of  God,  as  revealed,  of  course,  in  his  Word,  is 
spoken  of  as  the  only  infallible  touchstone.  So  in  Isaiah: 
*'  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony:  if  they  speak  not  ac- 
cording to  this  word,  it  is  because  they  have  no  light  in 
them. "I  To  the  same  purpose  is  the  wise  answer  of 
Abraham  in  the  parable:  "  They  have  Moses  and  the 
prophets:  let  them  hear  them. — If  they  hear  not  Moses 

"  No,  my  friends,  believe  me  !  it  is  not  by  miracles  that  disciples 
are  to  be  gained  for  the  New  Jerusalem.  The  real  inhabitants  of 
this  '  holy  city'  are  to  be  interiorly  principled  in  wisdom  and  good- 
ness :  and  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  a  thousand  miracles  to  affect  the 
interiors  of  the  mind,  or  to  remove  one  evil  which  is  rooted  there. 
Let  us  then  remember  we  are  men,  and  look  for  such  evidences  as 
become  the  capacities  of  men  ;  which  are,  truths  that  recommend 
themselves  to  an  enlightened  reason  :  and  of  these  rational  eviden- 
ces there  is  no  lack  to  accredit  the  testimony  of  Baron  Swedeii- 
lorg."— 

See  also  some  remarks  upon  the  unsatisfying  nature  of  the  evidence 
from  miracles  in  the  preface  to  "  the  plenary  Inspiration,"  &c.  I 
had  there  said,  in  reference  to  those  defences  of  Christianity  which 
build  chiefly  on  that  evidence,  that  they  "  are  more  adapted  to  silence 
than  to  satisfy  even  an  ingenuous  inquirer."  The  observation  has 
been  cavilled  at  by  some  of  the  Reviewers ;  but  I  have  since  had 
the  satisfaction  of  finding  precisely  the  same  idea,  in  nearly  the 
same  phraseology,  expressed  by  Mr  T.  Erskine,  in  his  very  popular 
work,  "  Remarks  on  the  Internal  Evidence  for  the  truth  of  the  Chris- 
tian Religion." — "  We  generally  find,"  says  that  amiable  writer, 
"  that  the  objections  which  are  urged  by  sceptics  against  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  Bible,  are  founded  on  some  apparent  improbability  in 
the  detached  parts  of  the  system.  These  objections  are  often  repel- 
led by  the  defenders  of  Christianity  as  irrelevant ;  and  the  objectors 
are  referred  to  the  unbroken  and  well  supported  line  of  testimony  in 
confirmation  of  its  miraculous  history.  This  may  he  asilendng  ar- 
gument, hut  it  is  not  a  convincing  one.''     (p.  200,  Ed.  1823.) 

*  Deut.  xiii.  1,  2,  3.  f  Ch.  viii.  20. 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  153 

and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they  be  persuaded,  though 
one  rose  from  the  dead."*  And  the  Lord  himself  : 
^'  Search  the  Scriptures;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have 
eternal  life:  and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me. — 
Had  ye  believed  Moses,  ye  would  have  believed  me  : 
for  he  wrote  of  me."|  It  is  to  this  testimony  that  Sweden- 
borg  appeals.  As  the  "  harbinger"  of  the  Lord  at  his 
first  advent  preached  of,  and  pointed  to,  the  Word  made 
flesh,  and  they  who  thence  were  led  to  Jesus  acknow- 
ledged, that,  though  "  John  did  no  miracle,  all  things 
that  he  said  of  this  man  were  true;"  so  does  the  herald 
of  the  second  advent  point  to  the  Lord  in  his  Word,  and 
they  who,  guided  by  his  directions,  seek  him  there,  will 
assuredly  find,  that,  though  Swedenborg  did  no  miracle, 
all  that  he  has  said  of  the  presence  of  the  Lord  therein, 
in  the  power  and  glory  of  its  spiritual  sense,  is  true  also. 
And  the  one  is  as  great  a  divine  discovery  as  the  other. 
As  it  was  impossible  for  John,  without  illumination  fi-om 
above,  to  have  known  in  his  true  character  the  Word  in 
person;  so  was  it  impossible  for  Swedenborg,  without 
illumination  from  above,  to  have  known  the  true  charac- 
ter of  the  written  Word  of  God,  to  have  seen  how  it 
makes  a  one  with  the  living  Word  himself;  being  a  de- 
rivation from  him  in  the  inmost  of  w^hich  he  is,  and  by  the 
opening  of  the  internal  sense  of  which  he  is  bringing 
himself  nearer  than  ever  to  mankind,  and  granting  to 
them  a  nearer  access  to  him.  It  would  he  idle,  I  admit,  to 
talk  in  this  manner,  if  the  views  of  Scripture  given  in  the 
writings  of  Swedenborg  differed  not  from  those  of  com- 
mentators in  general, — if  they  contained  nothing  beyond 
what  learning  and  study  and  piety  might  discover:  but 
if  they  exhibit  far  more  than  this;  if  they  present  the 
Word  in  a  light  completely  new  and  transcendantly 
glorious;  if  they  prove  that  it  includes  throughout  a  reg- 
ular spiritual  sense,  which,  without  superseding  that  of 
the  letter,  immensely  exalts  and  dignifies  the  whole,  dis- 
playing it  to  the  enchanted  eye  of  reason  as  well  as  of 
faith  as  the  very  Divine  Truth  and  Wisdom, — as,  with- 
out a  figure,  the  Word  of  God  indeed;  then  surely  it 
will  be  conceded,  that  flesh  and  blood  could  not  have  re- 
vealed this  unto  him,  but  he  must  have  received  it  by 
special  illumination  from  the  living  Word  himself. 

*  Luke  xvi.  29,  31.  t  John  v.  39,  46. 


154  A  HUMAN  INSTRUiMEXT  NECESSARY 

Why  is  this  not  generally  seen  ?  Because  Christians 
in  general  now,  like  the  Jews  at  the  Lord's  first  advent, 
have  their  minds  pre-occupied  with  erroneous  conceptions 
respecting  spiritual  subjects:  because,  as  the  Jews  were 
possessed  with  gross  but  darling  notions  respecting  the 
earthly  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  and  the  perpetual  car- 
nal observation  of  the  ceremonial  law,  and  thus  were  dis- 
qualified for  relishing  the  spiritual  things  which  he  de- 
clared were  contained  in  that  law;  so  Christians  are  pos- 
sessed with  external  but  fondly  cherished  sentiments 
respecting  all  the  great  points  of  the  religion  of  Jesus, 
and  with  the  persuasion  that  it  is  to  continue  unaltered, 
as  professed  by  them,  till  the  end  of  the  world;  and  are 
thus  disqualified  for  relishing  the  truly  heavenly  doc- 
trines and  really  spiritual  ideas  which  are  now  shewn  to 
be  contained  in  the  Word  of  God.  Perceiving,  on  a 
slight  inspection,  that  the  views  presented  by  Sweden- 
borg  oppose  their  prejudices,  few  take  the  trouble  to 
make  themselves  sufficiently  acquainted  with  his  wri- 
tings to  be  able  to  form  anything  like  a  correct  judg- 
ment respecting  their  truth  and  credibility:  yet,  I  apj>re- 
hend,  :«ven  the  most  prejudiced  will  hardly  deny,  that 
the  sphitual  sense  opened  by  his  instrumentality,  if 
true,  is  a  discovery  of  such  importance  as  to  be  wor- 
thily referred  to  God.  But  let  us  hope  that  the  reign 
of  prejudice,  though  it  has  lasted  long,  will  soon,  in  this 
as  in  so  many  other  instances,  be  broken  down.  The 
Lord  at  his  coming  in  the  flesh  was  crucified;  no  wonder 
then  that,  when  appearing  again  in  the  opening  of  a 
higher  order  of  Truth  in  his  Word,  he  should  be  reject- 
ed: but  as  he  then  rose  again,  and  from  his  throne  in 
heaven  extended  his  reign  over  multitudes  who  then 
began  to  acknowledge  him,  so,  doubtless,  the  hour  is 
coming  when  an  influence  from  himself  in  heaven  will 
accompany  his  Word  as  opened, — when  the  prejudices 
which  oppose  its  reception  will  be  abolished  from  the 
minds  of  multitudes, — and  when  they  will  again  "look 
upon  him  whom  they  have  pierced,"  and  accept  the 
truth  they  have  denied.  Begin  then,  I  intreat  you,  ye 
Candid  and  Reflecting,  to  use  the  freedom  which,  by  the 
accomplishment  of  the  last  judgment,  is  restored  to  the 
human  mind.  Suffer,  in  your  own  breasts,  the  power  of 
prejudice  to  reign  no  longer.     Take  the  pains  fairly  to 


AND  THEREFORE  GRANTED.  155 

estimate  the  views  of,  and  from,  the  Word  of  God  pre- 
sented by  Svvedenborg,  not  rejecting  the  whole  as  soon 
as  you  find  something  that  differs  from  your  previous 
opinions,  or  that  you  do  not  immediately  understand:  and 
the  result,  I  trust  will  be,  that  you  will  find  them,  as  com- 
pared with  the  Word  of  God,  testifying  their  own  truth 
by  evidence  far  more  convincing  than  that  of  miracles, 
because  by  evidence  that  does  not  merely  strike  the 
senses,  but  reaches  the  understanding,  and  affects  the 
heart.  Then  you  will  see  that  the  illustrious  Swedenborg 
must  indeed  have  been  the  Human  Instrument  for  com- 
municating the  great  truths  connected  with  the  second 
coming  of  the  Lord.  If,  with  any  degree  of  candor, 
you  look  at  his  character  and  writings  without  admit- 
ting this,  you  will  find  the  whole  an  inexplicable  riddle. 
His  writings,  you  will  see,  are  far  too  replete  with  su- 
perior views  of  Divine  Truth  to  be  the  productions,  in 
its  ordinary  state,  of  the  human  mind;  in  addition,  you 
will  perceive,  that  they  are  far  too  methodical  in  their 
form,  too  soberly  as  well  as  sublimely  rational,  to  be  the 
imaginations  of  a  lunatic;  and,  in  further  addition,  you 
will  acknowledge,  that  their  excellent  moral  tendency, 
together  with  the  eminently  amiable  and  virtuous  char- 
acter of  their  author,  render  ridiculous  the  notion,  that 
they  can  be  the  offspring  either  of  wilful  imposture  or 
of  diabolical  illusion.  What  remains,  but  that  you  ac- 
cept them  as  the  result  of  divine  illumination, — the  com- 
munications of  a  writer  who  had  really  been  called  to 
a  holy  office  by  the  Lord?  Admit  this,  and  the  mystery 
is  solved.  You  will  be  satisfied,  that  this  much  calum- 
niated and  much  mistaken  man  was  as  consistent  and 
exalted  a  character  as  was  ever  known:  you  will  con- 
fess, that  having  been  selected  as  the  Human  Instrument 
for  announcing  the  last  great  dispensation  of  gospel- 
truth,  though  differing  from  former  similar  Instruments 
as  much  as  this  differs  from  former  dispensations;  and 
being  "  not  disobedient  unto  the  heavenly  vision  ;"*  he 
pursued  the  course  appointed  him  with  as  much  stead- 
iness and  consistency,  self-devotion  and  zeal,  as  mark- 
ed the  career  of  a  Moses  or  a  Paul ;  and  your  hearts  will 

"  Acts  xxvi.  19. 


156  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

tell  you,  that,  like  them,  he  deserves  to  have  his  memo- 
ry for  ever  embalmed  in  the  grateful  recollections  of 
mankind.* 


SECTION  VI. 

Heaven  and  Hell;  and  the  ^Appearances  in  them  and  in  the 
Intermediate  Region  or  World  of  Spirits. 

If  the  character  of  the  illustrious  Swedenborg,  as 
the  divinely  selected  Human  Instrument  for  announcing 
the  second  coming  of  the  Lord,  and  for  communicating 
the  discoveries  of  Divine  Truth  to  be  then  afforded,  be 
satisfactorily  established;  and  if  the  reality  of  his  inter- 
course, in  that  character,  with  the  spiritual    world,  be 

*  The  impossibility  of  explaining  the  character  of  Swebenborg 
upon  any  other  hypothesis  than  that  which  admits  the  truth  of  his 
pretensions,  has  been  tacitly  acknowledged  by  some  of  his  Review- 
ers. The  Monthly  Review,  for  instance,  though  it  has  sometimes 
indulged  an  ill  placed  levity  in  regard  to  Swedenborg's  writings,  yet 
on  the  first  publication,  in  English,  of  his  treatise  on  Heaven  and 
Hell,  which  is  precisely  the  work  of  his  which  may  most  easily  be 
distorted  into  matter  of  ridicule,  spoke  of  the  Author  in  the  following 
tone  of  moderation:  "  Count  Swedendorg  (so  it  styles  him)  is  cer- 
tainly to  be  ranked  among  the  wonders  of  the  age  :  for  though  en- 
thusiasts and  visionaries  have  arisen  at  all  times,  it  is  very  rare  to 
meet  with  one  who  so  calmly,  yet  confidently,  and  with  so  much 
simplicity  and  cool  reasoning,  relates  the  frequent  interviews  he  has 
had  with  the  world  of  spiiits."  The  Reviewers  then  give  an  ex- 
tract from  the  book ;  after  which  they  say,  "  In  whatever  light  we 
regard  this  author,  there  is  somethin;^  truly  astonishing  in  him 
and  in  his  writings.  He  was  a  man  of  eminence  and  distinction  in 
his  country  ;"  &c.  continuing  to  relate  much  that  was  honorable  in 
his  character,  and  concluding  with  an  extract  from  the  translator's 
pre  face,. exhorting  to  the  perusal  of  his  works.  (M.  R.  Nov.  1778.) 
In  their  account  of  the  work  entitled  "  The  New  Jerusalem  and  its 
Heavenly  Doctrine,"  after  a  sort  of  abstract  of  its  contents,  they  say, 
"  Possibly,  when  the  doctrine  here  taught  is  stripped  of  its  peculiar 
garb,  it  will  be  found  to  mean  nothing  more  than  that  real  piety 
integrity,  and  goodness  of  heart,  which  all  goodmen  must  plead/or, 
and  earnestly  wish  to  see  universally  prevail. — We  will  only  add, 
that  while  we  cannot  but  consider  the  late  Count  Swedenborg  as  an 
Enthusiast  of  the  first  order,  we  must  also  regard  him  as  a  most  ex- 
traordinary, and,  indeed,  a  must  wonderful  man?"  (M.  R. 
Vol.  Ixiii.  App.)  We  here  see  precisely  the  same  feeling  as  the  force 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  157 

confirmed,  as  we  have  seen  it  is,  by  indubitable  proofs 
of  his  supernatural  knowledge;  all  the  objections  which 
are  made  against  him  on  account  of  the  particulars 
brought  to  light  by  him  respecting  the  hitherto  unknown 
state  of  man  after  death,  fall  at  once  to  the  ground.  If 
those  particulars  are  in  harmony  with  his  general  system 
of  doctrine,  and  his  general  system  of  doctrine,  inclu- 
ding that  part  of  it  which  relates  to  this  subject,  is  se- 
curely founded  on  the  Scriptures,  it  is  the  height  of 
absurdity  (o  reject  them,  and  with  them  the  whole  of  his 
system,  because  they  clash  with  some  unfounded  pre- 
judices of  our  own.  Most  men  avow,  that,  in  regard  to 
all  which  relates  to  the  life  of  man  after  death,  beyond 
the  simple  fact  that  he  continues  to  exist,  they  are  in- 
volved in  the  deepest  ignorance:  yet  offer  them  any  spe- 
cific information  on  the  subject,  and  they  reject  it  as  un- 
true, with  a  decision  which  would  only  be  justifiable 
were  they  already  in  possession  respecting  it  of  the 
most  accurate  knowledge.  Supremely  interesting  to  an 
immortal  as  is  the  nature  of  the  state  on  which  he  enters 
at  the  death  of  the  body,  the  opposers  of  the  New 
Church  act  as  if  it  were  here  a  high  privilege  to  be  in 
the  dark.  Allow  me  then  now  to  appeal  to  you,  my  Can- 
did and  Reflecting  Readers,  on  this  much  misrepresent- 
ed and  much  misunderstood  part  of  our  Author's  tes- 
timony and  writings. 

of  truth,  by  another  of  its  distinguished  prociaimers,  excited  in  one 
of  old,  whose  previous  habits  had  in  Uke  manner  disqualified  him  for 
receiving  it,  but  who,  while  under  its  Influence  for  a  moment,  could 
not  refrain  from  exclaiming,  "  Almost  thou  persuadcst  me  to  be  a 
Christian."  (Acts  xxvi.  28.)  The  previous  habits  of  the  Monthly 
Reviewers,  together  with  the  character  they  had  to  maintain,  con- 
strained them  to  speak  of  Swedenborg  as  an  enthusiast ;  while  the 
force  of  truth  compelled  them  to  admit,  tliat  he  was  such  an  enthu- 
siast as  the  world  had  never  before  seen.  ¥/hat  could  have  made 
them  say,  '•'  In  whatever  light  we  view  this  author,  there  is  some- 
thing truly  astonishing  in  him  and  his  tvritings  ?"  What,  but  an 
inv/ard  feeling,  though  not  acknowledged  to  themselves,  that  no 
other  hypothesis  could  explain  the  phsnoruena  of  his  case  but  that 
which  the  author  himself  assigns  ?  without  which  his  character  and 
v*^ritings  must  ever  remain  an  inexplicable  riddle,  calculated  to  ge- 
nerate all  that  astonishment  which  attends  the  combination  of  con- 
tradictions ?  what  more  extraordinary  contradiction  than  to  talk  of  a 

CALM  and  COOLLY  REASONING  euthuslast  '     WHOSE    DOCTRINE, 

too,  is  such  as  all  good  men  must  earnestly  wish  should  become  uni- 
versal,— that  is,  is  the  essence  of  reason  and  excellence  ? 
14 


158  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

I.  It  is  we  are  well  aware,  (and  it  may  be  expedient, 
first,  to  meet  that  objection  with  a  few  remarks,)  a  great 
offence  with  many  in  this  Sadducean  age,  that  our  Au- 
thor should  profess  to  have  had  open  communication  with 
the  spiritual  world;  to  have  been  so  in  the  spirit, — and 
this,  as  he  declares,  not  when  he  was  asleep  but  when  he 
was  wide  awake, — as  to  be  able  to  communicate  with 
those  in  the  world  of  spirits,  or  the  first  receptacle  of 
souls  after  death,  and  occasionally  with  those  in  heaven 
and  with  those  in  hell;  as  also,  to  behold  the  appearances 
which  exist  in  all  those  places  and  states  respectively.* 
But  what  is  there  in  his  pretensions  on  this  subject,  which 
is  not  sanctioned  by  the  experience  of  those  who  have 
formerly  filled  a  similar  office  ?  Did  not  the  Apostle  Pe- 
ter behold  as  extraordinary  a  vision  as  any  that  is  detailed 
in  the  ''  Memorable  Relations"  of  Swedenborg,  when 
he  beheld  "  a  certain  vessel  descending  unto  him,  as  it 
had  been  a  great  sheet,  knit  at  the  four  corners,  and  let 
down  to  the  earth;  wherein  were  all  manner  of  four- 
footed  beasts  of  the  earth,  and  wild  beasts,  and  creeping 
things,  and  fowls  of  the  air.  And  there  came  a  voice  to 
him.  Rise,  Peter,  kill  and  eat."t  Does  not  the  Apos- 
tle Paul  declare,  that,  to  him  revelations  from  heaven 
were  things  of  common  occurrence?  He  says, — and 
states  it  among  his  claims  to  respect  and  attention,  not  as 
what  ought  to  involve  his  pretensions  in  doubt  and  denial, 
— "  I  will  come  to  visions  and  revelations  of  the  Lord. 
I  knew  a  man  in  Christ,  [meaning  himself,]  about  four- 
teen years  ago  (whether  in  the  body  or  out  of  the  body 

*  It  was  this  which  the  writer  of  this  Appeal  found  most  repulsive, 
when  first,  by  the  kindness  of  Providence,  the  writings  of  Sweden- 
borg came  into  his  hands.  Accustomed,  as  is  so  commonly  the  case 
at  this  day,  to  consider  the  other  world  and  this  to  be  separated  by  an 
impassable  barrier,  I  could  scarcely  believe  it  possible  for  an  inhabit- 
ant of  the  natural  world  to  have  any  open  communication  with  the 
spiritual, — not  even  by  the  special  gift  and  providing  of  the  Lord. 
Hence  I  at  first  ridiculed  what  I  read  (for  the  first  book  I  opened 
was  the  treatise  on  Heaven  and  Hell),  beautiful,  sublime,  and  affect- 
ing, as  were  the  views  presented.  But  examining  further,  the  su- 
perior views  on  all  the  subjects  of  religious  doctrine  which  the 
writings  of  Swedenborg  everywhere  exhibit,  and  the  luminous  ex- 
planations they  offer  of  the  Word  of  God,  entirely  convinced  me, 
that,  in  these  respects  he  was  truly  an  enlightened  and  safe  guide. 

t  Acts  X.  11, 12,  13. 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  159 

I  cannot  tell;  God  knoweth;)  such  a  one  caught  up  to 
the  third  heaven.  And  1  knew  such  a  man  (whether  in 
the  body  or  out  of  the  body  I  cannot  tell ;  God  knoweth ;) 
how  that  he  was  caught  up  into  paradise,  and  heard  un- 
speakable words,  which  it  is  not  possible  for  man  to  utter. 
Of  such  a  one  will  I  glory. — And  lest  1  should  be  exalt- 
ed above  measure  through  the  abundance  of  the  revela- 
tions^ there  was  given  to  me  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  a  mes- 
senger of  Satan,  to  buflet  me,  lest  I  should  be  exalted 
above  measure,"*  Communications  with  the  spiritual 
world,  then,  were  common  with  the  apostles,  and  were 
regarded  by  them  as  properly  belonging  to  their  ofiice: 
and  specific  examples  of  them  abound  throughout  the 
Scriptures  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.  So, 
if  we  are  to  give  any  credit  to  the  unanimous  assertion 
of  all  the  primitive  fathers,  similar  communications  were 
extremely  frequent  in  the  early  ages  of  Christianity. 
But,  without  adverting  to  these,  the  possibility  of  such 
communications  cannot  be  denied  by  any  believer  of  the 
Scriptures.  Surely  then  we  may  say,  that,  standing  in 
the  situation  in  which  Swedenborg  asserts  he  did,  he 
would  have  been  but  half  qualified  for  his  work  had  he 
been  without  them.  His  pretending  to  them  does  not, 
indeed,  afford  proof  that  his  other  pretensions  are  true; 
but  it  makes  the  whole  consistent,  and  thus  it  gives  to 
the  whole  the  character  of  higher  probability.  In  him, 
as  the  instrument  for  restoring  the  true  knowledge  of  re- 
ligious truth,  they  were  entirely  in  place.  Without 
them,  all  that  he  advances  besides  would  have  lost  half 
its  claim  to  attention.  And  if  the  information  communi- 
cated by  him  is  far  more  distinct  than  had  ever  been 
made  known  on  such  subjects  before,  this,  also,  is  pre- 
cisely what,  under  the  circumstances,  was  to  have  been 
expected.  If  the  knowledge  respecting  life  and  immor- 
tality brought  to  light  at  the  first  promulgation  of  the 
gospel,  greatly  exceeded  in  clearness  what  the  world 
previously  possessed;  it  surely  was  to  be  expected,  that 
the  knowledge  on  the  same  subjects  unfolded  at  the 
Lord's  second  advent,  would  rise  in  distinctness  above 
that  communicated  at  his  first,  in  the  same  ratio  as  this 
transcended  the    mere  shadows  afforded  under  the  Mo- 

*  2  Cor.  xii.  lto5,7. 


160  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

saic  dispensation.  Is  it  then  the  part  of  sound  reason  to 
reject  the  information  communicated,  for  being  what, 
if  true,  it  assuredly  ouglit  to  be?  Is  it  the  part  of  sound 
judgment  to  conclude,  respecting  Swedenborg,  from  the 
mere  fact  of  his  asserting  that  he  had  such  communica- 
tions with  the  spiritual  world,  as,  if  his  pretensions  were 
true,  he  ought  to  have  had,  that  therefore  his  pretensions 
were  false?  We  surely  cannot  justly  come  to  such  a 
conclusion,  till,  after  having  weighed  all  that  he  offers 
as  the  result  of  his  communications  in  the  balances  of 
Scripture  and  Reason,  we  have  found  them  wanting. 

II.  To  induce  a  condemnatory  decision  respecting 
the  subjects  of  Swedenborg's  spiritual  intercourse,  the 
author  of  the  Anti-Swedenborg  has  brought  together, 
as  before  observed,  such  a  collection  o{  Sundered  Scraps 
as  he  deemed  most  likely  to  make  an  unfavorable 
impression  on  the  reader:  and  he  prepares  for  them  by 
a  Section  headed  On  Heaven  and  Hell;  in  which  he  states, 
in  his  own  way, — that  is,  in  the  way  he  thinks  best  cal- 
culated to  generate  prejudice, — such  particulars  as  will 
most  easily  admit  of  misrepresentation.  To  create 
odium,  he  imputes  to  us  on  a  former  occasion,  as  notic- 
ed above,*  the  denial  of  ''  a  future  reckoning  day  and 
an  hereafter  of  rewards  and  punishments;"  so  now,  for 
the  same  purpose,  he  falsely  represents  us  as  abolishing 
The  difference  between  heaven  and  hell.  "  The  Baron," 
he  affirms,  "  by  his  descriptions  of  the  invis''  ':^  "vorld, 
has  gone  a  great  way  towards  making  those  who  will 
believe  him,  neither  very  anxious  for  heaven,  nor  much 
afraid  of  hell,  which,  wherever  such  a  feeling  obtains, 
is  a  dreadful  mental  disease.  For  the  sauotions  of  re- 
wards and  punishments  do  mightily  restrain  from  vice, 
and  promote  virtue  and  piety.  We  are  all  naturally  too 
remiss  in  religious  duties:  there  is  therefore  little  need 
to  bereave  us  of  those  two  great  stimulants,  hope  and 
/ear."t  So  then,  Swedenborg  deprives  virtue  and  vice 
of  their  sanctions: — a  serious  charge  indeed,  were  there 
a  grain  of  truth  in  it!  To  be  "  afraid  ofhell,^''  however, 
in  its  most  proper  sense,  is  to  be  afraid  of  evil;  for 
though  Jicll  is  a  place  and  state  of  misery,  the  essence 
of  it  is  evil.     The  fear  of  hell  which  is  not  accompanied 

^  P.  fi6.  t  P.  67. 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  161 

with  the  year  of  evil  is  but  a  spurious  and  Pharisaic 
kind  of  feeling,  productive  of  little  benefit  either  to  the 
individual  or  to  society.  A  man  may  be  afraid  of  hell 
in  the  manner  recommended  by  Mr  B., — even  of"  the 
Mahometan's  hell,''  the  description  of  whose  terrors  he 
quotes,  (for  he  here  again  refers,  for  the  third  or  fourth 
time,  to  his  favorite  standard  of  orthodoxy,  "  the  Mahom- 
etan's Creed!") — without  being  much  afraid  of  evil:  and 
Mr  B.  seems  desirous  to  evince  this  by  his  own  example; 
for  surely  it  is  no  light  evil  continually  to  sin,  as  he  does, 
against  the  commandment,  "  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false 
witness  against  thy  neighbor." 

That  any  man  who  has  ever  looked  into  Sweden- 
borg's  treatise  on  Heaven  and  Hell,  and  by  making 
references  to  it,  as  Mr  B.  has  done,  wishes  it  to  be  be- 
lieved that  he  has  read  it,  should  be  capable  of  advancing 
such  a  calumny  as  to  say,  that  the  Baron's  descriptions 
of  the  invisible  world  tend  to  make  men  neither  very  anx- 
ious for  heaven  nor  much  afraid  of  hell;  to  take  away 
from  virtue  and  vice  the  prospect  of  reward  and  punish- 
ment; and  to  deprive  men  of  those  stimulants  to  good 
conduct,  hope  and  fear;  is  truly  a  deplorable  example 
of  the  power  of  theological  prejudice;  for,  most  assured- 
ly, never  before  was  heaven  represented  under  so  truly 
attractive,  exalted,  and  glorious  an  aspect;  never  was 
hell  depicted  so  morally  appalling,  so  repulsive  by 
credible  horrors. 

Is  there  nothing  calculated  to  render  us  anxious  for 
heaven, — to  make  us  regard  it  as  a  reward  of  virtue  de- 
sirable in  the  highest  degree, — in  the  assurance  offered 
by  Swedenborg,  that  he  who  enters  heaven  comes  into 
a  scene,  where  every  object  that  can  impart  delight  sa- 
lutes his  new-quickened  sensations;  while  yet  it  is  not 
in  anything  imparted  by  outward  objects  that  his  hap- 
piness essentially  consists,  though  they  contribute  to  its 
fulness,  but  in  that  ineffable  sense  of  blessedness  which 
fills  his  whole  mind,  and  which  is  inherent  in  that  life  of 
love,  wisdom,  and  use,  by  which  he  is  inwardly  animated, 
and  into  the  full  activity,  and  completely  developed  enjoy- 
ments of  which,  he  now  finally  enters?  He  is  immedi- 
ately, according  to  our  Author,  surrounded  by  kindred 
angels,  all  ready  and  eager  to  shew  him  the  most  winning 
offices  of  attention,  and  in  whose  society  he  feels  at  once 
14* 


162  HEAVEN  AND  HELL; 

entirely  at  home,  as  if  he  were  among  friends  and  rela- 
tives known  to  him  from  infancy;  whence  his    spirits 
expand,  and  his  life  is  exalted,  being  conjoined  with  the 
life  of  all  around  him;  which  being  all  in  harmony  with 
his  own,  and  not  the  slightest  disagreement  creating  an 
opposing  or   uncongenial  sphere  to  be  felt,    occasions 
such  a  sense  of  fulness  of  delight,  as  can  never  here  be 
experienced,    nor  even  conceived.     Nor  can  any  de- 
scription ever  exalt  the  imagination  even  to  the  threshold 
of  the  state  requisite  for  apprehending  it;  for  it  can  only 
be  apprehended,  as  it  is,  by  those  in  the  spiritual    state 
belonging  to  angels,  and  which  cannot  be    perceptibly 
communicated  to  man  in  the  natural  world.     Of  man  in 
his  natural  state  it  will  ever  be  true,  as  Divine  Truth  hath 
spoken,  that  "  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 
hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive,    the 
things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him." 
]Vor  does  the  experience  of  our  author  form  any  excep- 
tion to    this  statement;  for  it  was  not  to  tlie  faculties  of 
his  natural  part,  by  which  he  lived  as  a  man  in  the  world, 
that  the   experience  was  communicated,  but  to  those  of 
his  spiritual  part,  which  properly  belongs  to  the  spiritual 
world;  and  he  constantly  declares  that  he  can  give  no 
description  of  what  it  was  thus  granted  him  to  perceive, 
that  can  convey  any  adequate  idea  of  it  to  man  in  the 
world:  all  that  he  sketches  therefore,  and    all   that  we 
can  apprehend,  is  to  be  regarded  but  as  a  faint  approxi- 
mation to  the  reality.     But  we  must  not  attempt  to  enter 
into  particulars  here.     Let  those  who  feel  sufficient  in- 
terest in  a  subject  interesting  above   all  others,   consult 
our  Author's   work  on  Heaven  and  Hell;  and  if  they  do 
not,    on  a  serious  examination,  find  his  representations 
of  the  heavenly  state  to  be  heavenly  indeed ;  to  be,  to  the 
truly    rational  and  justly  feeling  mind,   pre-eminently 
attractive:  and  to  bear  so  distinctly  the  stamp  of  truth 
as  to  indicate  that  they  could  only  have  been  derived  from 
positive  knowledge;  we  will  admit  that  he  has  no  higher 
claim  to  superior  illumination.* 

*  Let  any  one  turn  in  pa'"ticular  to  the  chapters  on  the  Wisdom  of 
the  Angels  of  Heaven,  on  the  State  of  Innocence  of  the  Angels  of 
Heaven,  on  the  State  of  Peace  in  Heaven,  and  on  Heavenly  Joy  and 
Happiness;  and  it  may  surely  be  affirmed,  that  if  anything  can 
affect  him,  and  awaken  in  his  bosom  any  heavenward  aspirations,  he 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  163 

And  if  they  who  believe  the  testimony  of  Swedenborg 
have   reason  to  be  animated  in  the  highest  degree  to 

will  find  it  there.  I  select  a  few  passages,  that  the  reader  may  see 
how  easy  it  would  be  to  make  a  collection  of  Extracts  from  Sweden- 
borg's  works  that  would  powerfully  recommend  them  to  the  pious 
and  sincere. 

"  The  angels  can  express  by  a  single  word  what  a  man  cannot  ex- 
press by  a  thousand  words.  Besides,  in  one  angelic  expression  are 
conveyed  things  innumerable,  which  cannot  be  expressed  by  the 
words  of  human  language  ;  for  in  every  individual  thing  uttered  by 
angels  are  included  arcana  of  wisdom  in  continual  succession,  to 
which  human  sciences  cannot  reach.  The  angels  also  supply  by 
the  tone  of  their  voices,  what  they  do  not  express  fully  by  the  words 
of  their  speech ;  and  in  the  tone  of  their  voices  is  contained  the 
affection  belonging  to  the  things  of  which  they  speak  in  their  order  : 
for  by  the  tones  they  express  affections,  and  by  the  words  the  ideas 
of  thought  flowing  from  their  affections.  Hence  it  is  that  the  things 
heard  in  heaven  are  said  [by  the  Apostle  Paul]  to  be  ineffable." 
(H.  and  H.  n.  269.) 

"  It  is  said  in  heaven,  that  innocence  dwells  in  wisdom,  and  that 
the  angels  have  wisdom  in  proportion  as  they  have  innocence. 
That  this  is  the  case,  they  confirm  by  these  considerations:  That 
they  who  are  in  a  state  of  innocence  attribute  nothing  of  good  to 
themselves,  but  consider  themselves  only  as  receivers,  and  ascribe 
all  to  the  Lord  :  that  they  are  desirous  to  be  led  by  him,  and  not  by 
themselves  :  that  they  love  everything  which  is  good,  and  are  de- 
lighted with  everything  which  is  true,  because  they  know  and  per- 
ceive that  to  love  what  is  good,  thus  to  will  and  to  do  it,  is  to  love  the 
Lord,  and  that  to  love  what  is  true  is  to  love  their  neighbor  :  that 
they  live  contented  with  what  they  have,  whether  it  be  little  or 
much,  because  they  know  that  t]|^y  receive  as  much  as  is  profita- 
ble for  them,  little  if  little  be  profitable,  and  much  if  much  :  and 
that  they  do  not  know  what  is  profitable  for  them,  because  this  is 
known  only  to  the  Lord,  who  hath  a  view  to  what  is  eternal  in  all 
the  operations  of  his  providence." — "  All  who  are  in  the  good  of  in- 
nocence are  affected  by  innocence,  and  so  far  as  any  one  is  in  that 
good,  so  far  he  is  affected.  But  they  who  are  not  in  the  good  of  in- 
nocence, are  not  affected  by  it :  wherefore  all  who  are  in  hell  are 
altogether  contrary  to  innocence,  nor  do  they  know  what  innocence 
is  ;  yea,  they  are  of  such  a  character,  that  in  proportion  as  any  one 
is  innocent,  they  burn  with  a  desire  to  do  him  mischief."  (n.  278, 
283.)— "The  inmost  principles  of  heaven  are  two,  viz.  innocence 
and  peace.  They  are  termed  inmost  principles,  because  they  pro- 
ceed immediately  from  the  Lord.  Innocence  is  that  principle  from 
which  is  derived  every  good  of  heaven  ;  and  peace  is  that  principle 
from  which  is  derived  all  the  delight  of  heaven.  Every  good  is  at- 
tended with  delight :  and  both  good  and  delight  have  relation  to  love ; 
for  whatever  is  loved  is  called  good,  and  is  perceived  as  delightful : 
Hence  it  follows  that  those  two  inmost  principles,  innocence  and 
peace,  proceed  from  the  divine  love  of  the  Lord,  and  affect  the  an- 
gels from  an  inmost  ground." — "  The  divine  sphere  of  peace  in 
heaven  flows  from  the  Lord,  and  exists  in  consequence  of  his  con- 


164  HEAVEN    AND    KELT.  ; 

secure  the  joy  that  is  set  before  them,  they  are  instiga- 
ted, by  the  clearest  conviction  of  the  eternal  wretched- 
junction  with  the  angels  of  heaven,  and  in  particular  in  consequence 
of  the  conjunction  of  good  and  truth  in  every  angel.  These  are  the 
origins  of  peace  :  whence  it  may  be  evident,  that  peace  in  heaven 
is  the  Divine  Sphere  inmostly  affecting  with  blessedness  every  prin- 
ciple of  good  there,  thus,  acting  as  the  source  of  all  the  joj'^  of  hea- 
ven; and  that  in  its  essence  it  is  the  divine  joy  of  the  Lord's  divine 
love  resulting  from  his  conjunction  with  heaven  and  with  everyone 
there.  This  joy,  perceived  by  the  Lord  in  the  angels,  and  by  the 
angels  from  the  Lord,  is  peace.  Hence,  by  derivation,  the  angels 
have  every  blessedness,  delight,  and  happiness ;  or  that  which  is 
called  heavenly  joy."     (n.  285,286.) 

"  Every  one  may  know,  that  when  man  leaves  the  external  or 
natural  man  he  comes  into  the  internal  or  spiritual ;  whence  it  may 
be  known  that  heavenly  delight  is  internal  and  spiritual,  but  not  ex- 
ternal and  natural ;  and  since  it  is  internal  and  spiritual,  that  it  is 
purer  and  more  exquisite,  and  that  it  affects  the  interiors  of  man, 
which  are  the  faculties  of  his  soul  or  spirit." — "  The  delights  of  hea- 
ven are  ineffable,  and  likewise  are  innumerable.  But  of  those  innu- 
merable delights  not  one  can  be  known  or  credited  by  him  who  is 
in  the  more  delight  of  the  body  or  of  the  flesh  ;  since  his  interiors 
look  away  from  heaven  and  towards  the  world,  that  is,  backwards. 
For  he  who  is  wholly  immersed  in  the  delight  of  the  body  or  of  the 
flesh, — or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  in  the  love  of  self  and  the  world, — 
has  no  sensation  of  any  delight  but  what  is  to  be  found  in  honor,  in 
gain,  and  in  the  pleasures  of  the  body  and  the  senses,  which  so  extin- 
guish and  choke  interior  delights,  which  are  those  of  heaven,  that 
their  existence  is  not  believed.  Wherefore  a  person  of  this  descrip- 
tion would  wonder  greatly,  if  he  were  only  told  that  there  are  de- 
lights existing  when  the  delig}^  of  honor  and  gain  are  removed  ; 
and  still  more  if  he  were  told,  that  the  delights  of  heaven  succeed- 
ing in  their  place  are  innumerable,  and  are  such,  that  the  delights  of 
the  body  and  the  flesh,  which  are  chiefly  the  delights  of  honor  and 
gain,  cannot  be  compared  with  them.  Hence  the  reason  is  evident, 
why  it  is  not  known  what  heavenlyjoy  is." — "  All  the  delights  of  hea- 
ven are  conjoined  with  and  are  in  uses^  because  uses  are  the  goods 
of  love  and  charity,  in  which  the  angels  are  principled  ;  wherefore 
everyone  enjoys  delights  of  such  a  quality  as  are  his  uses,  and  like- 
wise in  such  a  degree  as  is  his  affection  for  use." — "  Heavenlyjoy 
itself,  such  as  it  is  in  its  essence,  cannot  be  described,  because  it  has 
its  seat  in  the  inmost  principles  of  the  life  of  the  angels,  and  thence 
in  every  particular  of  their  thoughts  and  affections,  and  from  these 
again  in  every  particular  of  their  speech  and  actions.  It  is  as  if  the 
interiors  were  fully  opened  and  expanded  to  the  reception  of  delight 
and  blessedness,  which  is  diffused  into  all  the  fibres,  and  thus 
through  the  whole  angel ;  whence  its  perception  and  sensation  are 
such  as  to  admit  of  no  description  :  for  what  commences  from  the 
inmost  parts,  flows  into  all  the  parts  derived  from  them,  and  propa- 
gates itself,  with  continual  augmentation,  towards  the  exteriors. 
Good  spirits,  who  are  not  as  yet  in  that  delight,  because  not  as  yet 
raised  up  into  heaven,  when  they  perceive  it  emanating  from  an  an- 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  165 

ness  which  awaits  the  wicked  and  impenitent,  to  shun 
the  paths  which  lead  to  its  abode.  They  are  assured  in 
the  most  decisive  manner,  that  the  state  of  those  who 
are  inwardly  wicked, — who  are  confirmed^  in  principle 
as  well  as  in  practice  and  inclination,  in  the  evil  dispo- 
sitions of  their  corrupt  hearts, — will  be  hereafter  intense- 
ly miserable:  since  the  increased  activity  of  perception 
peculiar  to  those  in  a  spiritual  state  of  existence,  whilst 
it  incomparably  augments  the  felicity  of  the  good,  must 
proportionately  increase  the  unhappiness  of  the  bad. 
We  are  assured,  also,  that  not  only  are  the  inward  feel- 
ings of  the  wicked  hereafter  full  of  pain  and  misery,  but 
that,  although  they  are  not  unceasingly  roasted. in  mate- 
rial fire,  without  which  Mr  B.  would  fain  have  it  believed 
that  hell  cannot  be  hell,  yet  actual  inflictions  of  punish- 
ment inconceivably  severe,  and  often  reiterated,  also 
await  them  in  the  dark  world;  these  being  the  only  means 
by  which  their  malignant  natures  can  be  restrained  from 
breaking  forth  into  such  outrages   as  would  disturb  the 

gel  by  the  sphere  of  his  love,  are  filled  with  such  delight,  that  they 
fall  as  it  were  into  a  swoon  through  the  sweetness  of  the  sensation." — 
"  That  I  might  know  what  is  the  nature  of  the  delights  of  heavenly 
joys  it  hath  been  granted  me  by  the  Lord  to  perceive  them  ; 
wherefore,  since  I  have  had  living  experience,  I  can  know,  but" not 
at  all  describe  them  :  yet  something  shall  be  said  to  give  some  idea 
of  them. — It  was  perceived  that  the  joy  and  delight  came  as  from 
the  heart,  diffusing  themselves  with  the  utmost  softness  through  all 
the  inmost  fibres,  with  such  a  sense  of  gratification,  that  the  fibre  is, 
as  it  were,  nothing  but  joy  and  delight ;  and  in  like  manner  every 
perception  and  sensation  thence  derived,  receiving  its  life  from  hap- 
piness. The  joy  of  bodily  pleasures,  compared  with  these  joys,  is 
as  a  gross  and  pungent  clot  compared  with  a  pure  and  most  gentle 
aura.  It  was  observed,  that  when  I  was  desirous  to  transfer  all  my 
delight  to  another,  a  more  interior  and  fuller  delight  than  the  former 
flowed  in  its  place  ;  and  it  v/as  perceived  that  this  was  from  the 
Lord."  (n.  395,  398,  402,  409,  413.) 

I  know  not  how  these  extracts  may  impress  the  reader,  but  I  ven- 
ture to  think  that  every  one  may  in  some  measure  judge  of  his  own 
spiritual  state,  according  as  he  is  affected  by  them  or  not ;  and  that 
whosoever  is  affected  by  them  will  be  of  opinion,  that  they  are  in 
the  highest  degree  worthy  of  the  subject,  and  that  heavenly  wisdom , 
innocence,  peace,  and  joy,  could  only  be  so  well  described  by  a  com- 
munication from  heaven  itself.  If  any  should  still  think,  with  Mr 
B.  that  such  views  of  heaven  are  calculated  to  make  a  man  not  very 
anxious  to  attain  it, — that  they  deprive  virtue  of  its  prospect  ofre- 
ward,  and  bereave  us  of  the  stimulant  of  hope,  an  obviously  true 
solution  of  the  enigma,  but  a  most  awful  one,  is  given  in  the  ex- 
tracts  themselves. 


166  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

peace  of  the  good,  and  even  endanger  the  siibsistence  of 
the  universe.  According  to  Swedenborg,  all  who  are  in 
hell  can  feel  no  enjoyment  but  in  the  doing  of  evil;  yet 
no  sooner  do  they  attempt  it  than  they  fall  into  punish- 
ment. Their  existence  is  thus  passed  in  alternations 
between  two  states;  in  one  of  which  they  are  in  the 
sense  of  the  privation  of  all  delight,  in  consequence  of 
being  withheld  from  doing  surh  things  as  alone  are  de- 
lightful to  them, — and  this  in  addition  to  that  turbid 
wretchedness  which  lusts  such  as  theirs,  even  when  en- 
joying their  gratifications,  carry  within  them;  and  in 
the  other  they  are  suffering  the  positive  tortures  of  pun- 
ishments inconceivably  dreadful.  This  is  the  hell  of 
which  Mr  B.  declares  he  should  not  be  much  afraid!* 

"  It  may  be  satisfactory  to  the  reader,  if  we  illustrate  this  subject 
also  by  a  (ew  extracts  from  our  Author's  treatise  on  Heaven  and 
Hell. 

"Evil  spirits  are  severely  punished  in  the  world  of  spirits,  that  by 
punishments  they  may  be  deterred  from  doing  evil.  This  likewise 
appears  as  if  it  were  from  the  Lord;  when  yet  there  is  nothing  of 
punishment  from  the  Lord  but  from  evil  itself.  For  evil  is  so  con- 
joined with  its  own  punishment,  that  they  cannot  he  separated. 
For  the  infernal  crew  desire  and  love  nothing  more  than  to  do  evil, 
especially  to  inflict  punishment  and  torment  ;  and  »hey  likewise 
do  evil,  and  inflict  punishment,  on  every  one  who  is  not  protected 
by  the  Lord ;  wherefore,  when  evil  is  done  by  any  from  an  evil 
heart,  since  this  rejects  from  itself  all  protection  from  the  Lord,  in- 
fernal spirits  rush  in  upon  him  who  does  it,  and  punish  him." — 
"  What  eternal  fire  is, — which  is  mentioned  in  the  Word  as  the  por- 
tion of  those  who  are  in  hell,  hath  as  yet  been  known  scarcely  to 
any  one,  by  reason  that  mankind  have  thought  materially  respecting 
the  things  mentioned  in  the  Word,  not  being  acquainted  with  its 
spiritual  sense  ;  wherefore  by  this  fire  some  have  understood  mate- 
rial fire,  some  torment  in  general,  some  the  pangs  of  conscience  ;  and 
some  have  supposed  that  it  is  mentioned  merely  to  impress  the  wick- 
ed with  terror." — "  The  spiritual  heat  appertaining  to  man  is  the 
heat  of  his  life,  because  in  its  essence  it  is  love.  This  heat  is  what 
is  meant  in  the  Word  by  fire  ;  love  to  the  Lord  and  neighborly  love 
being  meant  by  heavenly  fire,  and  self-love  and  the  love  of  the  world 
by  infernal  fire." — '-Since  the  lust  of  doing  evils,  which  originate 
in  the  love  of  self  and  of  the  world,  is  what  is  meant  by  infernal  fire  ; 
and  since  such  lust  possesses  all  who  are  in  the  hells  ;  therefore, 
likewise,  when  the  hells  are  opened,  there  is  seen  a  sort  of  fiery 
appearance  with  smoke  issuing  from  it,  such  as  is  usually  seen  from 
buildings  on  fire. — But  when  they  are  closed,  this  fiery  appearance 
is  not  seen,  but  in  its  place  an  appearance  like  a  dark  mass  of  con- 
densed smoke. — It  is  however  to  be  noted,  that  they  who  are  in  the 
hells  ai'e  not  in  fire,  but  that  the  fire  is  an  appearance  ; — for  love  cor- 
responds to  fire,  and  all  things  which  appear  in  the  spiritual  world 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  167 

III.  In  the  general  views  then  which  are  presented  in 
the  writings  of  Swedenborg   on  the  subject  of  Heaven 

appear  according  to  correspondence*." — "  As  by  infernal  fire  is 
meant  every  lust  to  do  evil  flowing  from  the  love  of  self,  by  it  is  al- 
so meant  torment  such  as  has  place  in  the  hells.  For  the  lust  deriv- 
ed from  that  love  is  the  lust  of  hurting  others  who  do  not  honor,  ve- 
nerate, and  pay  court  to  the  subject  of  it :  —  and  when  such  lust 
pervails  in  every  one,  in  a  society  which  is  restrained  by  no  exter- 
nal bonds,  such  as  the  fear  of  the  law,  and  of  the  loss  of  reputation, 
of  honor,  of  gain,  or  of  life,  every  one,  under  the  impulse  of  his 
own  evil,  rushes  upon  another,  and,  so  far  as  he  prevails,  enslaves 
the  rest  and  reduces  them  under  his  dominion,  and  from  a  principle 
of  delight  exercises  cruelty  towards  those  who  do  not  submit. — All 
the  hells  are  such  societies;  v^herefore  every  one  there  carries  ha- 
tred in  his  heart  against  another,  and  from  hatred  bursts  forth  into 
cruelty,  as  far  as  he  pervails." — "  But  as  rebellious  disturbances  con- 
tinually exist  there,  since  every  one  there  desires  to  be  greatest, 
and  burns  with  hatred  against  others,  hence  come  new  outrages. 
Thus  one  scene  is  changed  for  another  :  wherefore  they  who  were 
made  slaves  are  taken  out  to  help  some  new  devil  to  subjugate  oth- 
ers ;  when  they  who  do  not  submit,  and  yield  implicit  obedience, 
are  again  tormented  by  various  methods.  And  so  they  go  on  con- 
tinually. Such  torments  are  the  torments  of  hell,  which  are  called 
infernal  fire."  (n.  550,  553,  566,  568,  573,  574.)  Beside  these  ge- 
neral miseries,  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Arcana  Ccclestia  are  de- 
scribed a  number  of  specific  inflictions  which  follow  the  perpetrators 
of  various  crimes. 

Now  can  anything  be  conceived  more  truly  horrible  than  such  a 
state  as  this  ; — to  be  incapable  of  any  delight  but  in  doing  injury  to 
others,  and  to  have  the  injury  thus  done  speedily  return  upon  their 
own  heads?  But  some  are  offended  that  delight,  under  any  form, 
should  visit  the  breasts  of  internals  :  yet  every  observer  of  human 
nature  well  knows  that  even  the  most  atrocious  ciimes  are  attended 
with  delight  to  those  who  are  in  the  love  of  them,  and  that  nothing 
is  more  true  than  the  observation  of  our  Author,  that  whatever  a 
man  loves  he  regards  as  good,  and  feels  as  delightful.  Thus  one 
well  acquainted  with  the  human  heart  represents  Satan  as  exclaim- 
ing, 

"  Evil,  be  thou  my  good!"  P.  L.  iv.  110. 

Again,  he  makes  Satan  justly  express  the  nature  of  evil,  and  its  de- 
light, in  the  following  lines  : 

"  The  more  I  see 
Pleasures  about  me,  so  much  more  I  feel 
Torment  within  me,  as  from  the  hateful  siege 
Of  contraries.     All  good  to  me  becomes 
Bane,  and  in  heaven  much  worse  would  be  my  state. — 
For  only  in  destroying  find  I  ease 

To  my  relentless  thoughts."  B.  ix.  119,  &c. 

The  same  character  speaks  of  his  aim  as  being 
"  — all  pleasure  to  destroy. 
Save  xohat  is  in  destroying:  other  joy 
To  me  is  lost."  lb.  477.  &c. 


168  HEAVEN    AND    HELL; 

and  Hell,  as  the  abodes,  respectively ,  of  happiness  and  of 
misery,  while  there  certainly  is  not  anything  which  is 
not  in  the  highest  degree  agreeable  both  to  Reason  and 
Scripture,  there  also  seems  nothing  which  could  be 
deemed  inconsistent  with  the  usual  conceptions  of  the 
Christian  world.  I  have  therefore  not  thought  it  requi- 
site to  dwell  upon  the  general  subject  further  than  was 
necessary  to  refute  Mr  Beaumont's  unjustifiable  calum- 
ny," that  heaven,  according  to  our  Author's  representa- 
tion of  it,  is  not  to  be  desired,  and  hell  not  to  be  feared. 
In  forbearing  to  enlarge  upon  these  subjects,  I  am  w^ell 
aware  that  I  am  foregoing  a  great  advantage;  for  the 
views  we  entertain  of  them  only  require,  I  am  sure,  to 
be  fully  and  fairly  exhibited,  to  win  the  admiration  and 
charm  the  effections  of  all  candid  and  reflecting  aspirants 
for  heaven.  But  my  aim  in  this  Appeal  is,  to  recommend 
our  views  of  the  eternal  world  and  state,  and  our  doc- 
trines of  faith  and  life,  not  so  much  by  the  direct  presen- 
tation of  their  obvious  beauties,  ;is  by  the  vindication  of 
those  points  which  have  been  most  assailed  by  objectors, 
because  they  most  differ  from  the  common  apprehensions 
of  the  Christian  world.  Now  some  of  the  particulars 
brought  to  light  in  the  writings  of  Swedenborg  respect- 
ing Heaven,  Hell,  and  the  Intermediate  Region  or 
World  of  Spirits, — some  of  the  circumstances  relating 
to  their  inhabitants,  and  to  the  appearances  which  are 
there  presented  to  the  view, — certainly  do  widely  differ 
from  the  commonly  received  apprehensions.  It  is  by 
these  then  that  such  adversaries  as  Mr  Beaumont  chiefly 
hope  to  make  an  unfavorable  impression  on  their  readers; 
with  which  view  they  set  them  forth  in  an  isolated  man- 
ner, separate  from  the  explanations  of  their  causes  which 
the  Author  gives  in  various  parts  of  his  works,  which, 
when  seen,  though  they  do  not  bring  the  statements 
objected  to  nearer  to  the  common  apprehensions,  evince 
the  common  apprehensions  to  be  founded  in  mistake, 
and  establish  the  agreement  of  all  the  Author's  state- 
ments with  Reason  and  Scripture.  The  explanatory 
truths  then  necessary  to  the  right  understanding  of  the 
subject,  I  propose  here  to  offer;  and  nothing  more  will  be 
necessary  to  vindicate  every  relation  which  our  adversa- 
ries would  stigmatize  as  unfounded  or  ridiculous. 
In  order    to  see   the    reasonableness  and  Scripture 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  169 

ground  of  the  seemingly  most  extraordinary  of  the  par- 
ticulars stated  by  Swedenborg  respecting  the  inhabitants 
of  heaven,  hell,  and  the  spiritual  world  in  general,  and 
the  objects  and  appearances  which  there  exist,  only 
these  two  general  truths  are  necessary  to  be  known  : 
First,  That  man  after  death,  though  no  longer  clothed 
with  a  material  body,  is  no  less  a  real  and  substantial 
man  than  before  :  and,  Secondly,  That  all  things  which 
exist  before  the  sight  in  heaven,  hell,  and  the  inter- 
mediate state  or  region,  are  appearances,  expressing 
and  outwardly  exhibiting,  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
immutable  analogy  or  correspondence  that  exists  by 
creation  between  spiritual  things  and  natural,  the  state, 
ideas,  and  inclinations,  of  those  who  dwell  there. 

With  respect  to  the  first  of  these  general  truths,  suffi- 
cient proof,  I  apprehend,  to  satisfy  any  mind  open  to 
conviction  may  have  been  given  above  in  our  Section 
on  the  Resurrection  ;  where  we  found  that  the  Apostle 
Paul  expressly  teaches,  that  there  is  a  spiritual  body  as 
well  as  a  natural  body  ;  and  where  it  appeared  that  all 
the  testimony  of  Scripture  upon  the  subject  treats  this 
spiritual  body  as  the  man  himself, — as  a  real  substantial 
existence,  which  rises  in  eternity  immediately  after 
death.  Mr  B.,  however,  quotes  as  ridiculous,  Sweden- 
borg's  account  of  this  matter:  I  will  adduce  the  para- 
graph in  which  the  difference  is  stated  between  man  in 
the  other  v/orld  and  man  in  this,  and  leave  you  to  judge, 
whether,  instead  of  its  being  ridiculous,  it  is  not  rational 
in  the  highest  degree.  His  v/ords  are,  '^  The  differ- 
ence between  a  man  in  the  natural  world,  and  a  man  in 
the  spiritual  world,,  is,  that  the  latter  is  a  man  clothed 
with  a  substantial*  body,  but  the  former  with  a  material 
body,  within  which  is  his  substantial  body;  and  a  sub- 
stantial man  seeth  a  substantial  man  as  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly as  a  material  man  seeth  a  material  man;  a  sub- 
stantial man,  however,  cannot  see  a  material  man,  nor 
can  a  material  man  see  a  substantial  man;  by  reason  of 
the  difference  between  what  is  material  and  what  is  sub- 

*  The  author  uses  the  terms  substantial  and  substance,  in  the  log- 
ical sense  of  that  which  subsists  by  itself  and  sustains  accidents  :  but 
he  confines  it  to  spiritual  subsistences  as  distinct  from  material,  be- 
cause the  latter  do  not  exist  of  themselves,  but  from  the  former ;  as 
do  these  from  the  Lord,  who  is  the  veriest  substantial  Being  of  all. 
15 


170  HEAVEiN    AND    HELL  ; 

stantial,  the  nature  of  which  difference  may  be  describ- 
ed, but  not  in  a  few  words."*  Now,  that  this  is  the  true 
representation  of  the  matter,  may  be  scripturally  proved 
from  all  the  accounts  of  the  visions  of  the  prophets. 
Did  John  the  Revelator  see  the  wonderful  things  that  he 
describes  with  the  eyes  of  his  body  ?  Does  he  not  be- 
gin his  revelations  with  saying,  "  I  was  in  the  spirit  on 
the  Lord's  day?"t  In  this  state  it  was  that  he  first 
heard  behind  him  ''  a  great  voice  as  of  a  trumpet,"  and 
that,  on  turning  round,  he  ''  saw  seven  golden  candle- 
sticks, and  in  the  midst  of  the  seven  candlesticks  one 
like  unto  the  Son  of  man.  "J  When  he  was  in  the  spirit, 
he  was  in  his  spiritual  or  substantial  man,  and  it  was  with 
the  eyes  and  senses  of  this  that  he  witnessed  all  that  he 
afterwards  describes.  And  that  this  idea  is  as  agree- 
able to  reason  as  to  Scripture,  is  evident  from  the 
opinions  of  many  intelligent  and  pious  persons,  who 
have  been  convinced  of  its  truth  by  their  own  reflec- 
tions. I  will  mention  here  one  testimony  of  this  sort  : 
it  is  that  of  Mrs  Fletcher,  the  widow  of  the  late  cele- 
brated Mr  Fletcher,  the  pious  and  every  way  accom- 
plished Vicar  of  Madeley.  The  life  of  Mrs  Fletcher, 
which  was  published  from  her  own  papers  a  few  years 
ago,  has  been  very  extensively  read  among  religious 
people:  and  in  it  this  intelligent  and  excellent  lady  thus 
speaks  of  the  state  of  man  after  death.  She  entertained 
the  full  belief,  that  though  separated  from  her  husband, 
so  far  as  death  could  separate,  her  union  and  communion 
with  him  still  remained;  and  she  thus  expresses  her  ideas, 
in  answer  to  objections  made  to  them,  partly  in  the  very 
language  of  Swedenborg.  "  Is  not  [the  objector  is 
supposed  to  ask]  the  spirit  divested  of  the  body  become 
of  a  quite  different  nature  to  what  it  was  before,  so  as  to 
be  incapable  of  the  same  feelings.^  I  answer,  Certainly 
no;  the  spirit  is  the  mail.  The  spirit  of  my  dear  hus- 
band loved  and  cared  for  me,  and  longed  above  every 
other  desire  for  my  spiritual  advancement.  Now  if  it 
were  the  body,  why  doth  it  not  love  me  still.''  You  an- 
swer, Because  it  is  dead.     That  is  to  say,  the  spirit  is 

*  Tr.  Chr.  Rel.  n.  793  ;  Beaumont,  p.  123, 
t  Rev.  i.  10.  i  Ver,  10,  12,  13. 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  171 

gone  from  it:  therefore,  that  which  loved  me  is  gone  from 
it.  And  what  is  that  but  the  spirit,  which  actuated  the 
body,  as  the  clock-work  does  the  hand  which  tells  the 
hour?  It  therefore  appears  quite  clear  to  me,  that  every 
right  affection,  sentiment,  and  feeling  of  mind,  we  have 
been  exercised  in  here,  v/ill  remain  in  the  spirit  just  the 
same  immediatehj  after  death.''^*  Now  if  many  believe 
this  to  be  true  when  they  read  it  in  Mrs  Fletcher,  why 
do  they  deride  Swedenborg  as  an  enthusiast  for  saying 
the  very  same  thing?  Our 'opponents  will  say,  ''Be- 
cause she  gives  it  only  as  her  opinion:  he  delivers  it  as 
a  truth  which  he  could  testify  from  experience."  This 
does  not  make  it  less  true,  at  any  rate.  But  I  might 
add,  that  Mrs  F,  also  gives  us  experience  on  the  sub- 
ject, both  of  her  own  and  of  others.! 

*  P.  195.  Svo.  ed.  1818. 

+  I  extract  the  following  vision,  which  she  relates  (p.  227)  as  an 
indubitable  fact,  of  a  woman  whom  she  calls  "  that  dear  old  saint, 
Mary  Matthews."  This  good  woman  having  awaked  under  an  ex- 
traordinary influence  early  in  the  morning,  on  getting  up  and  coming 
down  stairs,  relates  what  happened  to  her  thus :  "  All  around  nie 
seemed  God  !  It  appeared  to  me  as  if  the  room  was  full  of  heavenly 
spirits. — Falling  back  in  my  chair,  I  remembered  no  more  of  any 
thing  outward,  but  thought  I  was  at  the  threshold  of  a  most  beau- 
tiful place.  I  could  just  look  in : — The  first  thing  I  saw  was  the 
Lord  Jesus  sitting  on  a  throne.  There  was  a  beautiful  crown  over 
his  head.  It  did  not  seem  to  bear  vrith  a  weight,  but  as  if  it  was 
suspended  there,  and  as  he  turned  his  head  it  turned  with  him.  A 
glorious  light  appeared  on  one  side,  and  all  around  him  was  glory  ! 
I  thought  of  that  word  of  St  Paul, — Who  dwelleth  in  light  unap- 
proachable. Turning  my  eyes  a  little,  I  saw  close  to  my  Saviour 
my  dear  minister,  Mr  Fletcher.  He  looked  continually  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  with  a  sweet  smile.  But  he  had  a  very  different  appearance 
from  what  he  had  in  the  body,  and  yet  there  was  such  an  exact  re- 
semblance, that  I  could  have  known  him  among  a  thousand.  Fea- 
tures and  limbs  just  the  same,  but  not  of  flesh.  It  was  what  I  can- 
not describe,  all  light !  I  know  not  what  to  call  it :  I  never  saw  any- 
thing like  it.  It  was,  I  thought,  such  a  body  as  could  go  thousands 
of  miles  in  a  moment.  There  were  several  passed  who  ihad  the  same 
appearance  :  and  I  seemed  to  have  lost  my  old  weak  shaking  body. 
I  seemed  to  myself  as  if  I  could  have  gone  to  the  world's  end,  as 
light  as  air.  I  looked  on  him  a  long  time,  and  observed  every  fea- 
ture with  its  old  likeness.  He  then  turned  his  eyes  on  me,  and  held 
out  his  hand  to  me,  just  as  he  used  to  do.  After  this,  the  whole  dis- 
appeared, and  I  came  to  myself." — I  offer  no  opinion  of  this  vision , 
but  I  suppose  that  all  the  people  called  Methodists,  and  most  pious 
persons,  will  admit  it  to  have  been  something  real.  Yet  here  we 
have  an  account  of  man's  retaining  his  identity  after  death,  and  ex- 


172  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

Are  we  not  then  entitled,  from  the  whole,  to  say,  that, 
according  to  the  evidence  of  Scripture,  the  conclusions 

isting  in  a  spiritual  and  yet  substantial  body,  that  exactly  accords 
with  the  statements  given  by  Swedenborg. 

Having  here  had  occasion  to  make  use  of  the  testimony  of  Mrs 
Fletcher,  1  will  take  the  opportunity  to  correct  the  false  impression 
that  might  be  made  by  a  passage  in  her  life  (p.  377),  and  to 
establish  the  assertion,  that  "  among  the  believers  of  Sweden- 
borg's  spiritual  intercourse,  if  not  of  the  whole  of  his  doctrine, 
is  certainly  to  be  reckoned  the  celebrated  and  eminently  pious 
Vicar  of  Madeley,  the  Rev.  Mr  Fletcher  ;" — a  man  who  was 
far  the  brightest  ornament  that  Methodism  ever  possessed,  if  in- 
deed, his  religion  was  that  of  Methodism;  for  certainly,  though  he 
used  the  doctrinal  forms  of  Methodism,  he,  in  many  respec*^s,  pene- 
trated beyond  the  mere  appearances  of  truth  according  to  which 
they  are  framed,  and  soared  into  the  light  of  tlie  genuine  truth  it- 
self, being  elevated  into  it  by  the  purity  of  his  affection*.  It  is  also 
certain  that  ]\Ir.-  Fletcher,  atone  period,  approved,  at  least,  of  much 
of  Swedenborg's  writings.  This  is  evident  from  the  quotation  given 
above,  as  well  as  from  other  testimony  :  for  those  beautiful  senti- 
ments are  in  substance,  and  partly  in  expression,  the  same  as  are 
given  by  Swedenborg  in  his  treatise  on  Heaven  and  Hell ;  and  they 
were  written  by  her  just  after  she  had  been  reading  that  identical 
work.  But  her  mind  was  greatly  under  the  influence  of  Mr  Wes- 
ley, who,  as  we  hav^e  seen,  exerted  himself,  after  he  had  been  im- 
posed oa  by  ]\Tathesiu3,  to  prevent  the  reception  among  his  people 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church  ;  and  this  may  accj mt  for  the 
paragraph  which  appears  in  her  printed  journal  under  the  date  of 
March  5, 1S06,  more  than  twenty  years  after  Mr  Fletcher's  decease. 
But  there  are  some  Avho  can  hardly  believe  that  that  paragraph,  as 
it  stands,  though  it  makes  favorable  admissions,  ever  proceeded  from 
her  pen.  It  begins  thus :  "  A  thought  has  struck  my  mind.  That  from 
some  things  mentioned  in  the  notes  subjoined  fo  the  T  ;•  'rriit  of  St 
Paul,  edited  by  INIr  Gilpin,  after  my  dear  husband's  death,  he  might 
be  thought  to  favor  the  opinions  of  Baron  Swedenborg,  I  therefore 
think  it  my  duty  to  bear  my  witness  to  the  contrary." — What  Mr 
Gilpin  had  said  on  this  subject,  I  have  not  ascertr'ned,  not  having 
been  able  to  obtain  a  sight  of  the  first  edition  of  the-  work  ;  and  the 
passage  has  been  so  carefully  erased  from  the  subsequent  editions, 
that  not  a  syllable  respecting  Swedenborg  is  in  them  to  be  found. 
Mrs  F.  proceeds  :  "  The  first  book  winch  he  sajc  contained  hut  little 
amiss:  and  Mr  Wesley  having  observed  concerning  it,  'I  think  it 
will  neither  do  good  nor  harm,' — Mr  Fletcher,  soon  after  writing  to 
his  brother,  who  had  mentioned  it,  observed,  that  it  was  a  bonk 
ichich  he  did  not  condemn." — Ao?c  this  book,  which  Mr  Fletcher  did 
not  condemn.,  which  Mrs  Fletcher  allows  to  contain  hut  little  amiss, 
and  li'hich  Mr  Wesley  did.  not  think  capable  of  doing  any  harm,  teas 
the  Treatise  on  Heaven  and  Hell  :  and  that  is  a  work  of  no  neutral 
character  ;  for  its  details  being  constantly  given  as  the  results  of  the 
Author's  personal  knowledge  and  experience,  not  to  condemn  them 
is  to  acknowledge  it  to  be  at  least  highly  probable,  that  he  wrote 
from  divine  illumination.     And  that  work  not  only  contains  the  Au- 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THE3I.  173 

of  the  intelligent,  and  the  experience  of  the  pious,  the 
testimony  of  Swedenborg,  upon  this  subject,  is  most  cer- 

thov's  views  respecting  Heaven  and  Hell,  and  the  Life  after  Death 
in  general,  but  it  touches,  either  directly  or  incidentally,  upon  the 
whole  of  his  doctrines;  in  particular,  it  devotes  two  chapters  to  the 
explanation  of  the  correspondence  between  spiritual  things  and  na- 
tural, and  advances  throughout  the  great  doctrine  on  which  all  the 
others  hinge, — that  of  the  sole  divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
If  then  Mr  Fletcher  did  not  strongly  favor  the  whole,  would  he  have 
encouraged  his  brother,  for  whose  spiritual  welfare  he  felt  the  most 
tender  solicitude,  to  study  such  a  work,  by  telling  him  "  it  was  a  book 
which  he  did  not  condemn  ?" — Mrs  F.'s  journal  adds,  "  But  when 
he  had  seen  a  little  more  of  the  Baron's  works,  he  said  to  me  one  day, 

'  Polly,  I  believe  Mr will  be  a  Swedenborger,  and  I  am  very 

sorry  for  it.'  I  said,  well,  if  he  can  believe  there  are  wax  candles 
and  feasts  in  heaven,  he  must  have  strange  ideas.  Mr  F.  replied, 
'  My  dear,  thou  dost  not  perceive  the  snake  in  the  grass.  These 
books  deny  the  atonement,  and  so  strike  at  the  root  of  all  true  reli- 
gion.' In  the  same  mind  he  continued  to  the  last."  It  is  here  very 
strange  that  Pvirs  F.  should  have  made  the  remark  about  wax  candles 
in  heaven  ;  for  no  such  statement  is  ayiyichcre  made  hy  Siocdenborg. 
That  Swedendorg's  works  do  not  deny  the  atonement  as  represented' 
in  the  Scriptures,  will  be  seen  in  the  next  Section  but  one ;  and  it 
seems  scarcely  possible  that  Mr  F.  should  have  thought  so.  And 
that  he  esteemed  Swedenborg's  works  injurious,  and  continued  in 
that  mind  to  the  last,  is  utterly  irreconcilable  with  the  certain  fact, 
that  one  of  the  last  acts  of  his  life  teas,  to  introduce  those  icorlis  to 
a  helovcd  friend,  tcho  is  living  at  this  day,  and  blesses  his  memory, 
for  having  been  brought  by  him  to  a  knoivledge  of  those  invaluable 
icritings. 

The  following  is  from  a  letter  of  Mrs  M.  Walker,  of  Bath,  to  a  lady  in 
London,  dated  May  10,  1820.  The  original  is  before  me.  "  I  do 
not  remember  ever  to  have  read  any  passage  put  forth  by  a  public 
religious  character  with  feelings  of  more  surprise  and  astonishment, 
than  one  lately  put  into  my  hand  by  a  friend,  who  is  a  lover  of  truth. 
The  passage  alluded  to  is  in  Mr  H.  Moore's  Life  of  that  late  very 
dear  and  venerable  mother  in  Israel,  Mrs  Fletcher,  and  is  relative  to 
Mr  Fletcher's  opinion  and  sentiments  on  the  invaluable  writings  of 
Emanuel  Swedenborg  ;  for  which,  I  have  from  undoubted  and  uni- 
ted testimonies  been  convinced,  that  both  Mr  and  Mrs  F.  enter- 
tained much  respect,  if  they  did  not  fully  appreciate  their  worth. 
When  young,  I  was  honored  by  intimate  acquaintance  with  both 
those  distinguished  and  pious  characters  ;  and  I  for  some  years  cor- 
responded with  the  above  lady,  both  as  Miss  Bosanquet  and  Mrs 
Fletcher.  The  last  time  I  had  the  pleasure  of  addressing  her,  my 
letter  was  conveyed  to  her  hands  by  William  Gilbert,  Esq.,  a  native 
of  Antigua  ;  in  which  I  informed  her  that  I  had  embraced  the  doc- 
trine of  the  New  Jerusalem  Church,  requesting  her  sentim.ents 
thereon.  On  this  gentleman's  return  to  Bristol,  I  naturally  and  ar- 
dently expected  her  reply  :  But  to  my  great  disappointment  Mr  G. 
informed  me,  that  Mrs  F.  had  requested  her  kind  love,  and  hoped  I 
would  excuse  her  not  writing,  as  the  weak  state  of  her  eyes  prohi- 
15^ 


174  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

tainly  true?  Man  after  death  is  still  a  man, — a  real 
man  in  a  substantial  yet  spiritual  body,  though  no  longer 
in  a  material  body,  as  while  here. 

bited  her  doing;  it.     I  tlien  in((uired  if  she  had  made  no  remark  rela- 
tive to  E.  S.     Mv  G.  replied,  that  she  had  conversed  freely  with  him 
on  that  subject,  and  said,  that  she  could  always  see  a  great  difference 
in  his  writings  according  to  the  s<ation  he  described  himself  as  stand- 
ing in,  or  receiving  his  instructions  from;  —  for  instance,  when  he 
wrote  from  the  cast,  she  could  perceive  more  of  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord  to  be  in  it  than  when  from  any  other  quarter,  when  she  con- 
sidered what  he  wrote  as  coming  from  some  spirit  or  angel,  and 
sometimes  from  himself."     [It  is  to  be  observed,  that  Swedenborg 
never  describes  himself  as  standing  in,  or  receiving  what  he  wrote 
from,  different  quarters:  this  then  is  only  Mrs  Fletcher's  mode  of 
describing  the  difference  she  thought  she  perceived  in  his  writings  ; 
but  she  herein  adopts  as  true  what  he  states  respecting  the  differ- 
ence of  the  quarters  in  the  spiritual  world,  and  the  arrangement  of 
its  inhabitants. therein  according  to  their  states  ;  according  to  which 
representation,  the  east  is  where  the  Lord  himself  appears,  and  they 
are  stationed  towards  the  east  who  are  eminently  principled  in  love 
to  him.     But  Mrs  F.  here  fully  acknowledges  her  belief,  that  Swe- 
denborg really  did  receive  communications  from  the  spiritual  world, 
and  frequently,  even,  from  the  Lord,  though  she  falls  into  the  incon- 
sistency of  supposing,  that  he  who  was  thus  the  channel  of  divine 
and  heavenl}^  communications,  was  equally  the  channel  of  very  in- 
ferior influences,  and  was  himself  unable  to  distinguish  the  one  from 
the  other !     The  fact  is,  she  saw  that  the  reality  of  his  spiritual  inter- 
course could  not  be  denied,  nor  the  exalted  excellence  of  many  of 
his  views ;  but  cherishing  herself  some  erroneous  sentiments,  slie 
made  these  the  standard  of  her  judgment,  and  so  ascribed  to  an  im- 
perfect source  whatever  in  his  writings  was  inconsistent  with  them.] 
— "  Now,"  Mrs  Yv^alker  proceeds,  "  as  this  dear  lady  always  from 
my  earliest  years  expressed  a  strong  affection  for  me,  and,  had  my 
father  been  willing,  would  have  taken  me  home  as  her  own  daugh- 
ter (being  then  in  Batb,  about  the  year  1766  or  67,)  it  is  most  pro- 
bable that  a  woman  of  her  sweet  heavenly  spirit  would  have  warn- 
ed me  against  reading  or  receiving  doctrines  which  she  considered 
dangerous,  had  she  seen  them  in  such  lig^ht .-  which  she  might 
have  dons  verbally,  if  unable  to  write,  by  Mr  Gilbert.  —  Again"  I 
do  not  recollect  the  year,  but  at  the  time  the  Rev.  Melville  Home 
went  to  Sierra  Leone,  leaving  Mrs  Home  behind  on  account  of  her 
advanced  state  of  pregnancy,  Prlrs  H.  spent  about  ten  days  with  me  ; 
and  I  experienced  great  delight  in  her  conversation  and   communi- 
cations of  spiritual  sentiments,  not  without  surprise  at  finding  theni 
so  congenial  with  my  own.     One  day,  on  her  making  some  spiritual 
remark  which  I  knew  did  not  grow  in  the  old  church,  I  said,  '  My 
dear  Mrs  Home,  you  can  say.  Shibboleth  !  —  where  did  you  gather 
your  last  sentiment  fiom  .' '    '  From  Madely,'  she  replied,  '  from  dear 
Mr  Salmon.'     I  then  inquired  if  she  had  ever  conversed  with  Mi 
Fletcher  on  those  doctrines  :  to  which  she  replied  in  the  affirmative, 
and  that  he  appeared  to  esteem  them  so  highly,  that  she  inquired 
why  he  did  not  preach  them  in  his  church.     His  reply  she  gave  me 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THE3I.  175 

We  proceed  to  prove  the  second  general  truth  necessa- 
ry to  our  seeing  the  reasonableness  and  scripture  ground 

in  the  following  remarkable  words  :  •'  Because  my  congregation  is 
not  in  Jit  states  to  receive  them.'  " 

Mrs  Walker  then  relates  what  she  had  heard  respecting  Mr 
Fletcher  from  J.  W.  Salmon,  Esq.  of  Namptwich  ;  but  having  my- 
self been  favored  with  a  letter  from  that  gentleman  detailing  the 
particulars  more  fully,  with  leave  to  publish  them,  I  give  them  on 
his  immediate  authoritj'.  His  letter  to  me  is  dated  July  2,  1825  : 
and  in  it  he  says  as  follows  :  "  In  answer  to  your  inquiry,  I  state 
the  following  particulars  for  certain,  which  took  place  betwixt  Mr 
Fletcher  and  myself  the  last  time  I  had  the  pleasure  of  passing  a  cou- 
ple of  days  with  him  at  Madeley,  which  was  but  a  few  months  before 
his  death.  After  receiving  me  with  open  arms  into  his  house,  he 
thus  addressed  me  :  '  My  dear  brother,  (which  he  always  called  me,) 
I  am  glad  to  see  you,  and  hope  we  are  once  more  met  to  enjoy  a 
heavenly  feast  together.'  After  this  he  went  into  his  studj',  and 
brought  the  Baron's  treatise  on  Heaven  and  Hell,  and  laid  it  on  the 
table  before  me,  saj'ing,  '  There,  my  dear  brother,  is  a  book,  the 
contents  of  which  will  just  suit  your  taste  ;  and  as  I  am  particularly 
engaged  for  two  or  three  hours  every  day  about  this  time,  in  finish- 
ing a  controversial  work  of  some  importance,  you  will  excuse  my 
leaving  you  so  hastily,  and  amuse  yourself  with  reading  a  little  in  the 
book  I  have  brought  you,  which  I  believe  will  be  agreeable  to  your 
present  state  of  mind.'  He  then  left  me  :  and  being  greatly  im- 
pressed with  the  manner  of  his  introducing  the  book  to  me,  I  fell 
upon  my  knees,  and  devoutly  prayed,  that  if  the  truths  contained  in 
the  book  before  me  were  likely  to  make  me  more  holy  and  heavenly 
minded,  I  might  be  prepared  to  receive  them,  and  live  accordingly. 
Then  rising  from  my  knees,  I  opened  the  book,  and,  passing  over  the 
preface,  I  read  about  thirty  pages,  and  was  deeply  impressed  with 
the  whole  of  them,  but  more  than  words  can  express  with  the  decla- 
ration, that  the  Lord  Jesus  is  the  only  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  and 
the  only  Object  of  true  Christian  worship.  Just  after  being  thus 
xlivinely  impressed,  Mr  Fletcher  came  into  the  room,  and  thus  ad- 
dressed me  :  '  Let  me  now  ask  you,  my  dear  brother,  how  you  like 
the  Baron.' '  To  which  I  replied,  '  Who  can  do  otherwise  than  like 
him  .'  I  never  met  with  such  a  book  in  my  life.  He  discards  a 
trinity  of  persons  in  the  Godhead,  and  makes  the  Lord  himself  to 
be  the  only  God  of  heaven  and  earth.  I  should  be  glad  to  peruse 
the  whole  book,  if  you  can  conveniently  lend  it  me.'  To  which  he 
replied,  '  I  will  lend  it  you  with  great  pleasure,  and  desire  5-ou 
will  make  any  marginal  notes  on  it  you  think  proper.'  He  fur- 
ther said,  that  he  regarded  the  Baron's  writings  as  a  magnificent 
feobt,  set  out  with  many  dainties,  hut  that  he  had  not  an  appetite 
for  every  dish.  He  not  only  declared  this  to  me,  but  I  have  fre- 
quently been  informed  he  said  the  same  to  others.  What  books  of 
Swedenborg's  he  was  acquainted  with  besides  the  treatise  on  Heaven 
and  Hell,  I  cannot  say  ;  but  I  should  think  he  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  contents  of  that ;  as  he  told  me  that  he  intended  to  write  a 
treatise  on  the  science  of  correspondences ;  and  from  that  book,  I 
have  often  thought,  he  gained  the  knowledge  of  that  long  lost  and 


176  HEAVEN    AND    HELL ; 

of  the  particular  facts  respecting  the  appearances  in  the 
other  world  which  are  stated  by  Swedenborg.  That 
general  truth  is,  That  all  things  which  exist  before  the 
sight  in  heaven,  hell,  and  the  intermediate  state  or  region, 
are  api)earances,  expressing,  and  outwardly  exhibiting, 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  immutable  analogy  or  cor- 
respondence that  exists  by  creation  between  spiritual 
things  and  natural,  the  state,  ideas,  and  inclinations,  of 
those  who  dwell  there. 

It  is  a  fact  which  was  well  known  in  ancient  times, 
though  it    has  long  been  lost  sight  of,  that  there  does 

most  important  science."  —  Here  then  we  see  whence  he  acquired 
that  extraordinary  talent  for  opening  the  spiritual  sense  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, by  which,  Mr  Gilpin  assures  us,  he  was  so  distinguished.  — 
Mr  Salmon  then  mentions  how  he  was  struck  by  Mr  F.'s  manner  of 
praying.  He  always  began  with  "  Dear  Lord  Jesus  ;  "  from  which, 
and  from  a  passage  in  his  Pastoral  Letters,  p.  103,  Mr  S.  concludes, 
•'  that  our  Incarnate  God  and  Saviour  was  the  grand  Object  of  Mr 
Fletcher's  faith  and  worship."  Mr  S.  adds,  "  Let  me  not  forget  to 
acknowledge,  that  Mrs  Fletcher  sent  to  me  for  the  book,  saying,  that 
as  her  dear  husband  was  gone  into  the  other  world,  she  wished  to 
see  the  account  of  that  world  given  by  the  Baron.  —  What  her  sen- 
timents were  respecting  the  Baron's  writings,  Ifcannot  say,  as  she 
never  was  present  in  the  few  conversations  I  had  (respecting  them) 
with  her  husband." 

The  fact  then  must  surely  now  be  admitted,  to  be  amply  estab- 
lished,—  that  Mr  Fletcher  is  to  be  reckoned  among  the  believers  of 
Swedenborg's  spiritual  intercourse,  if  not  of  the  whole  of  his  doc- 
trine; andjhowever  the  strange  passage  came  into  her  journal,  the 
same  fact  appears  to  be  true  in  respect  to  Mrs  Fletcher  also,  though, 
probably  to  a  less  extent.  Would  such  a  man  as  Mr  Fletcher  have 
ia'rodnced  writings  to  his  friend,  with  the  anticipation  that  that  friend 
would  approve  of  them,  if  himself  thought  them  the  offspring  of  de- 
lusion ?  Would  he  have  permitted  his  friend  to  express  his  high 
approbation  of  the  leading  doctrine  of  those  writings  without  check- 
ing hi*  ardor,  if  iiiinself  deemed  that  doctrine  untrue?  The  thing- 
is  impossible  :  and  the  similar  reflection  which  Mrs  Walker  ir.ake^ 
respecting  Mrs  Fletcher's  conduct  to  her,  is  equally  well  founded. 
To  Mr  F.'s  remark,  "  that  he  regarded  Swedenborg's  writing?  as  a 
magnificent  feast,  set  out  with  many  dainties,  but  that  he  had  not  an 
appetite  for  every  dish,"  the  same  observation  is  applicable  as  to  Mrs 
Fletcher's  notion,  that  our  Author  wrote  at  times  from  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord,  and  at  other  times  from  inferior  spirits  or  from  himself: 
only  Mr  F.  does  not  ascribe  what  he  less  approved  to  any  fault  in 
the  things  themselves,  —  for  he  compares  the  whole  of  those  wri- 
tings to  a  feast,  and  all  their  contents  to  dainties, —  but  to  the  state 
of  his  own  appetite  ;  modified,  as  this  necessarily  was,  by  the  views 
of  doctrine  which  he  had  imbibed  in  early  life,  and  through  the  fal- 
lacy of  some  of  which  he  was  only  beginning  to  penetrate  when  he 
was  taken  away. 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  1  i  i 

exist,  by  the  very  first  laws  of  nature  and  of  creation,  a 
constant  mutual  relation  between  spiritual  things,  or 
such  as  relate  to  the  mind  and  its  perceptions,  and  the 
objects  which  appear  in  outward  nature;  which  is  such, 
that  natural  things  answer  to  spiritual  by  an  unalterable, 
fixed,  and  most  exact  analogy  or  correspondence,  so  that 
in  every  natural  object  an  image  of  some  spiritual  thing 
or  principle  is  to  be  seen.  Thus,  who  does  not  know, 
without  any  one  to  inform  him,  that  light  is  an  exact 
image  of  truth;  darkness,  of  ignorance  and  of  falsehood; 
fire,  of  love?  And  if  some  natural  things  thus  clearly 
answer  to  certain  spiritual  things  who  can  doubt  that  all 
natural  things  do  the  same,  and  that  such  correspond- 
ence is  essential  to  their  nature?*  Now  in  heaven  and 
hell  there  cannot  be  any  really  natural  things;  but  in- 
stead of  the  things  themselves  there  are  appearances  of 
them,  and  such  as  exactly  answer  to  the  state,  ideas, 
and  inclinations,  of  those  around  whom  they  appear. 
Hence,  many  of  those  things  which  appear  as  real  to 
the  wicked,  have  no  existence  but  in  their  own  phantasy, 
and  are  mere  illusions  of  their  sensual  imaginations. 
An  idea  of  this  may  be  formed  from  the  case  of  insane 
persons,  and  of  such  as  labor  under  extremely  severe 
nervous  disorders,  in  the  world:  These,  as  is  well 
known  will  often  imagine  that  they  see  and  are  annoyed 
by  different  appearances,  and  even  experience  severe 
pains  in  the  body,  when  the  whole  is  the  mere  illusion 
of  the  imagination,  though  its  effects  to  them  are  the 
same  as  of  the  most  solid  reality.  Now  all  in  hell  are 
absolutely  insane.  Rationality  can  never  exist  in  a  state 
of  separation  from  goodness  and  truth.  In  its  genuine 
state  it  is  the  offspring  of  the  heavenly  marriage  of  those 
two  principles.  In  the  world,  men,  even  though  wicked, 
are  kept  in  some  outward  regard  to  the  principles  of 
goodness  and  truth  for  the  sake  of  their  characters  in 
society,  and  also  are  held  in  a  state  of  rationality  by  the 
Lord,  that  their  reformation  may  be  possible:  but  such 
raJionality  does  not  reach  to  their  internal  part  or  spirit, 

'  See  this  proved  in  the  work  on  the  Plenary  Inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures.  See  it  sliewn  also  in  Kirbv  and  Spence's  Introdvction 
to  Entomology,  Vol.  i.  pp.  11,  12,  22,  2.3,  Y6\Av.  pp.  401  to  410  :  or 
see  the  Intellectual  Repository,  Vol.  ii.  (N.  S.)  pp.  131,  &c. ;  where 
the  passa2;es  are  extracted. 


178  HEAVEN  AND  HELL  j 

when  the  truly  internal  man, — the  apostle's  ^'  inward 
man  which  delights  in  the  law  of  God," — is  closed:  it  is 
put  off  at  death  together  with  their  external  part;  and 
as  they  then  come  into  their  internal,  which  is  in  the  in- 
fernal marriage  of  evil  and  falsehood,  they  become  also 
actually  insane;  although,  as  is  often  the  case  with  the 
insane  in  this  world,  they  become  in  the  highest  degree 
cunning,  and  skilful  in  malicious  artifices. 

JVow  that  the  objects  which  appear  to  sight  in  the 
spiritual  world  are  appearances  of  such  objects  as  are 
seen  in  the  natural  world,  and  that  these  are  all  repre- 
sentative of  spiritual  things,  is  perfectly  evident  from  all 
the  relations  of  the  kind  which  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Word  of  God,  and  which  are  there  very  numerous.  To 
take  an  example  which  alone  is  sufficient  to  establish 
the  fact.  When  forces  were  sent  to  seize  Elisha  the 
prophet,  and  his  servant  was  greatly  intimidated  at  the 
danger,  we  read  thus:  ''  And  Elisha  prayed  and  said. 
Lord,  I  pray  thee  open  his  eyes  that  he  may  see:  And 
the  Lord  opened  the  eyes  of  the  young  man,  and  he  saw: 
and  behold  the  mountain  was  full  of  horses  and  chariots 
of  fire  round  about  Elisha."*  Here  were  appearances 
of  objects  similar  to  those  of  the  natural  world,  seen 
when  the  eyes  of  the  spirit  of  Elisha's  servant  were 
opened:  consequently,  the  objects  seen  were  really  in 
the  spiritual  v/orld,  and  not  in  the  natural  world.  But 
who  can  imagine  that  there  are  real  horses  and  real  cha- 
riots in  heaven,  or  in  any  part  of  the  spiritual  world? 
What  then  were  these  but  appearances  representative 
of  the  sphere  of  Divine  Protection  with  which  the  pro- 
phet was  surrounded?  The  prophet,  doubtless,  being 
the  immediate  agent  of  God,  was  in  consociation  with 
the  angelic  world,  and  in  the  midst,  as  to  his  spirit,  of 
guardian  angels:  but  his  servant  did  not  see  the  angels 
themselves,  but  appearances  representative  of  the  de- 
fence and  protection,  which,  by  the  ministry  of  angels, 
surrounded  him  from  the  Lord.  A  hundred  other  instan- 
ces might  be  mentioned,  but  I  will  confine  myself  to  a 
few.  We  read  in  Zechariah,  That  he  saw  a  man  riding 
on  a  red  horse  among  the  myrtle  trees,  behind  whom 
were  red  horses,  speckled,   and  white:    that   he  after- 

*'2Ks.vi.  17. 


AND  THE    APPEARANCES  IN    THEM.  179 

wards  saw  four  horses  presented  before  him:  that  he  saw 
a  man  with  a  measuring  Hne  in  his  hand:  that  he  saw  a 
golden  candlestick  and  two  olive  trees:  that  he  saw  an 
ephah,  or  a  sort  of  a  measure,  flying  in  the  air,  and  a 
woman  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the  ephah;  and  that  he 
saw  two  other  women  with  the  wings  of  a  stork,  who  lift- 
ed up  the  ephah  between  the  earth  and  heaven;  *  with 
many  other  things  equally  extraordinary.  These  he 
could  not  see  with  the  eyes  of  his  body:  they  were  then 
things  presented  before  the  eyes  of  his  spirit:  thus  they 
were  appearances  of  things  in  the  spiritual  world:  and 
that  they  all  were  representative  of  some  spiritual  sub- 
ject, no  one,  surely,  can  doubt.  Just  the  same  was  the 
case  with  John  when  he  wrote  the  Revelation.  We 
have  already  seen,  that  when  he  beheld  the  extraordinary 
things  that  were  exhibited  before  him  he  was  in  the  spirit, 
or  in  a  state  in  which  the  senses  of  his  spirit  were  open- 
ed: and  that  all  the  singular  and  wonderful  appearances 
which  he  afterwards  beheld  were  representations  of 
spiritual  subjects,  and  of  the  interior  state  of  the  things 
and  persons  to  whom  they  related,  no  reflecting  mind 
can  doubt  for  a  moment.  Thus,  for  instance,  when  he 
was  favored  with  a  sight  of  the  Lord  as  the  Son  of 
man:  who  can  doubt  that  all  the  appearances  which  his 
divine  person  exhibited  were  exact  correspondences  of 
his  divine  attributes  and  perfections  ?  for  it  is  impossible 
to  suppose  that  the  person  of  the  Lord,  in  itself,  is  such 
as  is  there  described.  Thus  it  is  said  of  this  glorious 
being,  not  only  that  ^^  his  head  and  his  hairs  were  white 
like  wool,  as  white  as  snow,  and  his  eyes  as  a  flame  of 
fire,  and  his  countenance  as  the  sun  shining  in  his 
strength;"  but  also  that  "  his  feei  were  like  fine  brass 
as  though  they  burned  in  a  furnace, — that  he  had  in  his 
right  hand  seven  stars,  and  that  out  of  his  mouth  went 
a  sharp  two  edged  sword. "t  These  are  beautiful  rep- 
resentative appearances, — his  face  like  the  sun,  of  his 
divine  love  in  its  interior,  higher,  and  inmost  nature,  as 
perceived  by  angels;  his  feet  like  burning  brass,  of  the 
same  divine  love  in  his  Divine  Natural  Essence,  whence 
he  operates  on  men;  the  stars  in  his  hand,  of  all  the  di- 

*  Ch.  i.  S  ;  18  ;  ii.  1 ;  iv.  2, 3  ;  v.  6,  7 ;  9. 
t  Rev.i.  14,  1-^ie. 


180  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

vine  principles  of  knctwledge  which  he  imparts  to  the 
church;  and  the  sword  from  his  mouth,  of  the  power  and 
operation  of  his  Word  or  Divine  Truth.  And  who  can 
doubt,  if  the  circumstances  under  which  the  Lord  him- 
self appears  to  tliose  who  enjoy  such  a  privilege  are  thus 
representative  of  his  attributes  and  the  excellences  of 
his  nature,  that  the  circumstances  in  which  all  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  spiritual  world  find  themselves, — v/hether  in 
heaven,  in  hell,  or  in  the  intermediate  state,  are  represent- 
ative of  their  state,  quality,  and  nature,  likewise,  and  that 
all  the  appearances  which  attend  them  entirely  depend 
on  those  circumstances?  And  yet  that  the  appearances 
which  there  exist  are  not  mere  illusions,  having  no 
reality  whatsoever,  is  evident  Irora  the  occurrence,  that 
a  little  book  was  presented  both  to  EzeKiel  and  to  John, 
and  which  was  not  only  made  manifest  to  their  sight, 
but  they  were  commanded  to  eat  it;  which  they  accord- 
ingly did,  and  both  of  them  describe  how  it  tasted.  Eze- 
kiel  affirms,  "  I  did  eat  it,  and  is  was  in  my  mouth  as 
honey  for  sweetness:"*  John  says,  ^' And  I  took  the 
little  book  out  of  the  angel's  hand,  and  ate  it  up;  and  it 
was  in  my  mouth  sweet  as  honey:  and  as  soon  as  I  had 
eaten  it  my  belly  was  made  bitter :"| — circumstances 
these  which  fully  prove,  that  the  spirit,  in  which  John 
and  Ezekiel  were,  has  its  senses  as  well  as  the  natural 
body:  for  that  they  could  not  eat  a  spiritual  book  with 
the  organs  of  their  natural  body,  is  evident:  the  spiritual 
body  only  could  eat  a  spiritual  book  or  roll:  and  with 
their  spiritual  senses  only  could  they  distinguish  its 
taste. 

Evident,  then,  I  apprehend,  it  is,  that  all  things  that 
exist  in  the  spiritual  world  are  appearances,  which  either 
are  actually  real,  or  appear  as  distinctly  as  if  they  were 
so  to  the  senses  of  the  inhabitants.  If  any  one  cannot 
believe  that  the  things  seen  by  the  prophets  had  any 
proper  reality,  though  they  impressed  their  senses  as 
such,  we  will  not  stop  to  dispute  the  point  now:  only  I 
will  assure  him,  that  we  believe  all  the  appearances  in 
the  spiritual  world  described  by  Swedenborg  to  be  of 
exactly  the  same  kind:  the  one  exist  there  as  really  as 
the   other,   and   equally  owe  their   origin  to  the  spirit- 

*  Ezek.  iii,  3.  f  Rev.  x.  10. 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  181 

iial  things  and  states  of  which  they  are  the  outward 
manifestations.  The  only  difference  is,  that  the  things 
seen  by  the  prophets  were  appearances  produced  at  the 
time  by  the  Lord,  to  represent  things  and  states  belong- 
ing to  the  church  and  its  members  mostly  at  periods 
future  to  the  time  of  the  exhibition  of  the  visions;  where- 
as the  appearances  described  by  Swedenborg  as  ordi- 
narily existing  in  heaven,  hell,  and  the  intermediate 
world,  are  those  which  constantly  flow  from  the  states 
of  the  angels,  spirits,  or  infernals,  about  whom  they  are 
seen. 

Plain  enough,  then,  I  apprehend,  is  the  agreement 
of  our  author's  assertions  on  this  subject  with  the  testi- 
mony of  Scripture.  And  that  it  is  equally  agreeable  to 
the  suggestions  of  reason,  is  evident  from  the  fact,  that 
never  did  any  one  endeavor  from  his  imagination  to 
draw  a  picture,  presenting  anything  in  detail,  of  heaven 
or  hell  or  their  inhabitants,  without  accompanying  it  with 
such  circumstances  as  he  deemed  expressive  of  the 
states  of  mind  of  those  whom  he  wished  to  depict:*  the 
only  difference  being,  that  persons  who  have  formed 
their  guesses  from  their  imagination,  being  ignorant  of 
true  correspondences  or  analogies  between  natural 
things  and  spiritual,  have  usually  been  very  much  mis- 
taken as  to  the  particulars  of  their  figurative  delineations. 
Many  writers,  also,  have  seen,  that  unless  the  objects 
that  appear  in  heaven  be  analogous  to  those  which  are 
found  on  earth,  our  idea  of  heaven  is  an  idea  of  a  mere 
nothing.  Thus  the  angel  Raphael  is  made  to  say,  in 
Milton's  Paradise  Lost, 

"■  What  surmounts  the  reach 

Of  human  sense,  I  shall  delineate  so. 

By  likening  spiritual  to  corporeal  forms, 

As  may  express  them  best :  though  ickat  if  earth 

Be  but  the  shadow  of  heaven,  and  thinrrs  therein 

Each  to  other  like,  more  than  on  earth  is  thought:" 

B.v.  571,  &c. 

In  which  striking  lines  he  has  exactly  delineated  the  true 
state  of  the  case.  Be  it  asked  then;  Is  it  reasonable  to 
condemn  Swedenborg  for  affirming  as  a  fact,  what  in 
Milton  we  admire  as  a  highly  probable  conjecture."*     So 

*  I  am  informed  that  a  remarkable  attempt  of  this  kind  is  made  in 
the  popular  opera  of  Der  Freyschutz. 

16 


182  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

likewise,  I  am  assured,  even  our  present  accuser  has 
himself  seen  tlie  necessity  of  finding  some  other  objects 
wherewith  to  furnish  heaven  beside  men  in  their  revived 
material  bodies;  whence  he  once  preached  a  sermon  to 
prove,  that  there  would  be  a  resurrection  of  animals  as 
well  as  of  human  beings;  an  idea  which  is  favored  also 
by  the  great  Bishop  Butler:  and  surely  to  put  there 
horses  and  oxen,  sheep  and  goats,  dogs  and  cats, — to 
consider  beasts  as  existing  in  the  spiritual  world  in  solid 
bodies  of  animal  flesh  and  blood, — is  immensely  more 
extravagant  than  our  idea,  that  such  things  do  indeed 
exist  there,  but  only  in  appearance.  So,  I  suppose, 
every  Methodist  knows,  that  Mr  Wesley  furnishes  his 
new  earth,  which  he  considers  to  be  the  habitation  of  the 
saints  in  glory,  with  all  kinds  of  animals  and  c4her  ob- 
jects which  exist  in  this  earth,  only  in  a  much  more 
perfect  state.  But  surely,  since  all  seem  to  be  sensible, 
that,  in  some  way  or  other,  that  world  must  contain 
such  things,  it  is  far  more  reasonable,  with  us,  to  ccn- 
clude,  that  such  things  exist  there  as  appearances,  not 
possessing  any  conscious  life  of  their  own,  existing  only 
as  outward  figures  of  the  states  of  the  human  inhabit- 
ants, and  appearing  or  disappearing  as  those  states 
change,  than  to  imagine  with  our  opponents  that  they 
exist  there  of  themselves,  real  living  creatures,  enjoying 
for  their  own  sakes  the  privilege  of  immortality.  Reason 
teaches  7<s,  that  the  privilege  of  immortality  only  accom- 
panies the  faculty  of  rationality,  and  the  capacity  of 
being  conjoined  to  the  Immortal  by  the  conscious  re- 
ception of  his  life-giving  energies. 

If  then  our  two  general  positions  are  seen  to  be  true; 
if  it  be  admitted  that  man  after  death,  though  no  longer 
clothed  with  a  material  body,  is  a  real  and  substantial 
man, — if  good,  endowed  with  the  most  exalted  wisdom, 
and  if  wicked,  though  inexpressibly  cunning,  destitute 
of  all  true  rationality  and  absolutely  insane; — and  if  it  be 
seen  that  the  things  which  exist  in  heaven,  hell,  and  the 
intermediate  world,  are  appearances,  exhibiting  sensibly 
the  inward  states  of  those  about  whom  they  are  seen;  or 
if  it  be  only  known,  what  cannot  be  disputed,  that  this  is 
the  manner  in  which  these  subjects  are  represented  in 
the  writings  of  our  Author  and  understood  by  us; — we 
are  provided  with  satisfactory  solutions  of  all  those  cir- 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  183 

cumstances  in  his  accounts  of  the  nature  of  the  spiritual 
world,  which  naturally  at  first  appear  strange,  and  which 
may  easily  be  made  to  appear  ridiculous.  Refer  them  to 
their  interior  causes;  and  all  pretext  for  ridicule  disap- 
pears.* 

*  As  Mr  Beaumont  has  made  a  collection,  under  the  title  of 
Sundry  Extracts  from  the  tcritings  of  Bar(mSicedenborg,  of  s'lx- 
and-twenty  Sundered  Scraps,  which  he  thinks,  when  so  presented, 
will  appear  ridicuious,  we  will  here  apply  the  principles  above  es- 
tablished to  the  explanation  of  the  chief  of  the  particulars  which 
are  stated  ;  and  will  afterwards  pass  each  of  his  scraps  briefly  un- 
der review,  to  shew  how  truly,  when  the  circumstances  are  refer- 
red to  their  true  causes,  all  pretext  for  ridicule  disappears. 

The  uiost  important  of  the  circumstances  pointed  out  for  deri- 
sion and  which,  indeed,  is  so  truly  important,  in  every  point  of 
view,  that,  if  space  would  permit,  it  well  deserves  to  be  made  the 
subject  of  a  Section  by  itself,  is 

The  Existence  of  the  Marriage-Uniok  in  Heaven,  and  of  an 
Opposite  Connexion  in   Hell. 

Among  the  symptoms  of  corruption  of  manners  and  grossness 
of  sentiment  which  are  so  general  in  the  present  day,  there  is  none 
more  conspicuous  and  glaring  than  the  low  ideas  wliich  we  al- 
most everywhere  meet  with  of  the  nature  and  obligation  of  the  con- 
jugal covenant.  Every  i-hing  that  is  found  in  the  Scriptures  on 
this  important  subject,  constantly  adverts  to  the  Marriage  Union 
as  a  thing  most  pure,  most  holy,  most  heavenly;  insomuch  that, 
under  the  image  of  it,  heaven  itself  is  represented  to  us  in  the 
Word  of  God ;  yea,  by  this,  as  the  only  symbol  worthy  of  the  sub- 
ject, is  in  the  Sacred  Records  depicted  the  conjunction  of  God 
with  the  human  race.  On  the  otlier  hnnd,  a  state  of  adultery  is  in 
the  same  Divine  Word  constantly  spoken  of,  as  justly  represen- 
ting, and  accurately  exhibiting  to  our  apprehension,  man's  infidel- 
ity to  his  Maker,  the  state  and  nature  of  hell  itself  Evidently 
then,  in  the  Divine  Mind,  two  more  direct  opposites  do  not  exist, 
than  the  lawful  and  the  unlawful  connexion  of  the  sexes  :  Yet  who 
is  to  be  found,  among  the  general  bulk  of  society,  who  in  his  own 
mind  views  the  difference  as  so  fundamental  and  irreconcilable  .■' 
Who  thinka  that  the  true  love  cf  marriage  is  essentially  holy,  and 
the  love  of  all  connexions  alien  therefrom  is  essentially  profane  ? 
Who  regards  tiie  difference  between  them  as  intrinsically  inherent 
in  the  things  themselves,  independently  of  all  merely  arbitrary 
appointment  ?  It  is  true  that  few  persons  think  that  there  is  no  - 
difference  v/hatever  between  the  one  and  the  other  :  the  use  of 
marriage  in  society  is  obvious  to  allow  any  but  the  most  desperate- 
ly profligate  to  maintain  that  the  violation  of  its  bonds  is  altogeth- 
er a  matter  of  indifference,  or  that  libertine  practices  are  free 
from  criminality  :  but  who  supposes  that  the  love  of  the  one  species 
of  connexion  and  that  of  the  other  are  two  perfect  opposites,  and 
that  the  pleasures  they  afford  to  their  respective  votaiies  are  es- 
sentially different,  having  in  reality  nothing  whatever  in  common  .' 
How  many  are  there,  in  fact,  who  look  upon  marriage  as  but  a 
sort  of  legalized  adultery,  and  upon  adultery  as  differing  in  noth- 


184  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

JVo  w  ifthe  accounts  oftravellers  in  distant  countries  are 
read  with  delight:  il'even  the  minute  occurrences  which 

ing  but  the  Avantof  the  Ic^al  sanction  from  marriage!  Hence, 
among  the  topics  of  revilcment  brought  forward  against  the  doc- 
trines of  the  INew  Jerusalem,  none  is  more  frequently  insisted  on, 
none  is  more  confided  in,  as  capable  of  exposing  them  to  utter  de- 
rision and  contempt,  than  this  :  that  they  affirm  true  marriage  to 
be  a  permanent  institution,  true  marriages  to  be  indissoluble,  even 
by  the  power  of  the  grave;  and  that,  in  regard  to  all  who  enter  the 
heavenly  kingdom,  should  circumstances  have  prevented  them  from 
finding  propel-  partners  here,  they  will  find  such  there,  with  whom 
their  union  continually  becomes  more  perfect  and  mcrR  fraught 
with  pure  delight,  through  eternity.  What  is  the  law  of  Divme 
Order  upon  this  subject,  proclaimed  at  the  beginning  of  creation, 
and  confirmed  most  solenmly  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  r  "  Have 
ye  not  read,  that  he  which  made  them  in  the  beginning  made  them 
male  and  female,  and  said.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  father 
and  mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife  ;  and  they  twain  shall  be 
one  flesh  ^  "  Wherefore,"  says  the  Divine  Confirmer  of  this  original 
divine  law.  "  they  are  no  more  twain,  but  one  flesh."  (Mat.  xix. 
4,  5,6.)  Because  we  believe  this  doubly  authenticated  statement 
of  the  Word  of  God  ;  and  because  we  believe  that  Jesus  Christ 
uttered  a  lavr  of  eternal  obligation,  and  spoke  the  plain  truth,  when 
he  sealed  the  whole  with  the  irreversible  decree,  "  What  therefore 
God  hath  joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder ;"'  we  are  ridi- 
culed and  reviled  as  giving  gross  ideas  of  heaven  :  Whereas  all  the 
grossness  is  in  the  minds  of  our  accusers,  wliu  cannot  "rMin  a  pure 
thought  of  so  sacred  a;n  institution  as  that  of  marriage  ;  who  clear- 
ly betray,  by  their  sneers  respecting  it,  that  in  the  Ihoughts  of 
their  hearts  they  think  it  essentially  the  same  as  any  iaipure  con- 
nexion ;  and  who  thence  conclude,  that  to  regard  its  chaste  endear- 
ments to  be  perpetual,  is  to  carnalize  heaven.  So  the  same  parties 
think,  it  appears,  that  though  adultery  is  sinful,  it  ncvortbrless  is 
very  delightful,  and  that  to  represent  it  as  taking  pi;.!.;;  ..i  iiell,  is 
to  render  hell  irresistibly  inviting.  Thus  the  Rev.  Mr  Beaumont 
affirms,  that  our  doctrines  make  heaven  not  much  better  than  this 
world,  and  hell  not  much  worse  :  he  would  have  us  believe,  that 
marriage  is  not  only  not  a  hob,',  but  not  a  happy  f'  ;te,  insomuch 
that  to  be  eternally  tied  to  a  wife  is  enough  to  render  heaven  not 
over  delightful  ;  whilst  to  have  the  privilege  of  keeping  a  harlot 
(such  is  his  phraseolog}',  which  includes,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  se- 
quel, a  gross  misrepresentation),  is.  as  he  represents  it,  so  great  a 
happiness,  as  to  make  hell  itself  a  place  of  comfort ;  whence  "  our 
paupers  might  go  to  hell  on  speculation,"  (such  is  his  decent  lan- 
guage,) "  with  some  prospect  of  advantage  !"  (P.  68.)  So  pos- 
sessed is  he  with  the  notion,  that  to  live  with  a  harlot  must  be  so 
delightful  as  amply  to  outweigh  all  other  miseries,  that  he  turns 
to  it  over  and  over  again.  The  Candid  and  Reflecting,  I  am  sure, 
will  not  envy  our  accuser  his  taste  ;  they  will  not  think  that  heaven 
should  be  turned  from  with  disgust,  because  its  inhabitants  live  in 
the  pure  love  of  the  conjugal  covenant,  and  that  hell  must  be  turn- 
ed to  with   eagerness,  because   all  who  inhabit  it  are  adulterers. 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  185 

happened  on  the  journey  to  the  travellers  themselves, 
and  the  familiar  anecdotes  by  which  they  illustrate  the 

I  trust  we  shall  all,  presently,  see  reason  to  conclude,  that  heaven 
is  really  a  place  and  state  of  holiness,  as  well  as  of  happiness, 
though  all  chaste  conjugal  partners  are  there  ;  and  that  hell  is  a 
place  and  state  of  misery,  as  well  as  of  wickedness,  notwithstand- 
ing it  is  full  of  harlots  and  adulterers. 

] .  In  the  first  place,  then,  how  is  it  possible  to  represent  the  ho- 
liness of  the  pure  and  chaste  conjugal  connexion  in  a  stronger 
light,  than  by  describing,  as  the  Scriptures  do,  the  Lord  Himself 
as  one  of  the  parties  in  such  a  union,  and  the  church  as  the  other? 
Thus  we  find  the  Lord  sayinoj  to  the  church,  '•  Fear  not,  for  thou 
shalt  not  be  ashamed,  neither  be  thou  confounded,  for  thou  shalt 
not  be  put  to  shame  :  for  thou  shalt  forget  the  sharne  of  thy  youth, 
and  shalt  not  remember  the  reproach  of  thy  widowhood  any  more. 
For  thy  Maker  is  thy  Hiisband  ;  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name  ; 
and  thy  Redeemer,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  :  the  God  of  the  whole 
earth  shall  he  be  called."  (Isa.  liv.  4,  5.)  So  we  find  the  penitent 
church  saying  in  Hosea,  "  I  will  go  and  return  to  my  first  Husband  ; 
for  then  it  was  better  with  me  than  now."  (ch.  ii.  7)  ;  upon 
which  the  Lord  says  a  liltle  below,  "  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in 
that  day,  saith  the  Lord,  that  thou  shalt  call  me  Ishi,  and  shall  no 
more  call  me  Baali."  (ver.  16  :)  Baali  means,  "  My  Lord,  or  Mas- 
ter, "  and  Ishi  means,  "  My  Husband."  The  Lord  says  in  Jere- 
miah respecting  the  church  of  the  Israelites,  "  I  took  them  by 
the  hand  lo  bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ;  which  my  cove- 
nant they  brake,  although  I  was  a  husband  to  them,  saith  the 
Lord"  (ch.  xxxi.  32).  Many  such  passages  might  be  added.  And 
as  Jehovah,  in  the  Old  Testament,  thus  constantly  speaks  of  him- 
self as  the  husband  of  his  church,  so  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as 
being  the  manifested  Jehovah,  always  mentioned  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament in  the  same  character,  and  he  there  claims  the  church  as 
his  bride  and  wife.  '•  Can  the  children  of  the  bridechamber 
mourn,"  says  he  (Mark  ii.  19),  "  while  the  hrideg room  is  with 
them  .''"  in  answer  to  the  question  why  his  disciples  did  not  fast. 
So  in  the  parable  of  the  wise  and  foolish  virgins,  it  is  said  (Mat. 
XXV.  5,  6),  that  '•  while  the  bridegroom  tarried  they  all  slumbered 
and  slept,  and  at  midnight  there  was  a  cry  made.  Behold  the  bride- 
groom cometh,  go  ye  forth  to  meet  him  :"  where  the  Bridegroom 
is  evidently  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  in  how  beautiful  a  man- 
ner is  the  marriage  of  the  Lord  with  his  church,  in  that  glorious 
state  of  it  called  the  New  Jerusalem,  described  in  the  Revelation  ! 
"  I  John,  saw  the  holy  city.  New  Jerusalem,  coming  down  from 
God  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride  adorned  for  her  husband. 
— And  there  came  unto  me  one  of  the  seven  angels  which  had  the 
seven  vials  full  of  the  seven  last  plagues,  and  talked  with  me  say- 
ing, Come  hither,  I  will  shew  thee  the  bride,  the  Lamb's  zvife."  (ch. 
xxi.  2,  9.)  And  how  truly  sublime  is  the  previous  announcement 
of  these  nuptials !  "  A  voice  came  out  of  the  throne,  saying, 
Praise  our  God,  all  ye  his  servants,  and  ye  that  fear  him,  both 
small  and  great.  And  I  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great  mul- 
titude, and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters,  and  as  the  voice  of  migh- 
16* 


186  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

manners  of  the  people  and  the  character  of  the  place^ 
are  found  to  possess    great  interest,  though  we    never 

ty  thundering.-',  sa3Mng,  Allclnjali.  for  the  Lord  G'od  Omnipotent 
reigncth.  Let  us  be  glad,  and  rejoice,  and  give  honour  to  him,  for 
the  marriage  of  the  Lavih  is  come  and  his  zcife  hatli  made  herself 
ready. — And  he  saith  unto  me.  Write  :  Blessed  are  they  ichich  are 
called  unto  the  marriage-supper  of  the  Lamb.  And  he  saith  unto 
me,  These  are  the  true  sayings  of  God."  (ch.  xix.  5,  G,  7,  9.)  Are 
not  these  most  magnificent,  most  beautiful,  and  most  affecting  rep- 
resentations, of  the  union  of  the  Lord  with  his  church,  and  of  the 
divine  love  from  wh.ich  he  desires  such  a  union  ?  Is  it  not  also  cer- 
tain, that  the  union  of  the  Lord  with  his  church,  is.  next  to  the 
union  of  the  Essential  Divinity  or  Father  vvith  the  Divine  Human- 
ity or  Son,  the  most  holy  subject  Avhich  is  offered  to  the  contem- 
plation of  man  ?  Must  not  then  that  whicli  is  constantly  taken  to 
present  it  to  our  apprehension, — the  marriage  covenant, — be  holy 
likewise  ?  And,  indeed,  what  could  so  properly  represent  this  holy 
union  of  the  Lord  with  his  church,  as  a  union,  of  an  inferior  nature 
indeed,  but  which  originates  in,  and  flows  dov/n  from,  the  higher 
union,  and  thus,  as  an  effect  from  its  cause,  is  the  proper  image 
for  exhibiting  it  to  view.^  - 

But  not  onl}'  does  the  Lord,  both  before  the  incarnation  an<l 
since,  deign  to  describe  himself  as  the  Bridegroom  and  Husband 
of  his  church,  and  his  church,  as  his  bride  and  wife,  but  he  pre- 
sents heaven  itself  to  us  under  the  idea  of  a  marriage,  and  de- 
scribes admission  into  heaven  as  admission  to  a  marriage.  This  is 
dons  in  the  last  extract  from  the  Revelation,  and  in  several  of  the 
Lord's  discourses.  "  The  kingdom  of  lieoven,  saith  lie,  is  like 
unto  a  certain  king  v/hich  made  a  marriage  for  his  son,  and  sent 
forth  his  servants  to  call  thsm  that  were  bidden  to  the  wedding  ; 
and  they  v.'ould  not  come."  (Mat.  xxii.  2,3.)  So  likewise  the 
wise  virgins,  being  ready  when  the  bridegroom  came,  "  went  in 
with  him  to  the  viarriage  ;"  which  evidently  means,  were  admit- 
ted into  heaven.  Here  again  we  see  the  high  honor  done  on 
evevv  occasion  by  the  Lord  to  the  conjugal  covenant.  His  first 
miracle  (John  ii.  2,  &c,)  was  wrought  when  he  was  present  at  a 
marriage  as  a  guest  ;  and  he  borrows  the  image  of  a  marriage  as 
the  only  one  worthy  to  exhibit  to  his  disciples  the  nature  of  his 
kino-dom,  — of  heaven  itself.  Do  I  say  he  borrows  the  image  of  a 
marriage  to  describe  his  kingdom  ?  What  if  it  be  true  that  his 
kingdom  is  not  only  figuratively,  but  positively  and  essentially,  a 
marriage,  and  that  what  is  called  marriage  among  us  is  only  a  copy, 
a  derivation  from  that  marriage  which  is  heaven  itself.' 

This  will  be  seen  to  be  the  fact,  by  all  who,  rising  above  merely 
carnal  ideas  of  the  subject,  consider  the  passages  we  have  recited 
from  the  Word  of  God,  and  the  numerous  other  testimonies  point- 
ing to  the  same  truth  with  which  the  Word  of  God  abounds,  and 
look  at  the  cause  in  which  such  statements  are  grounded. 

For  what  can  Ave  iii^agineis  the  reason  why  the  Lord  Himself,  even 
the  Eternal  Jehovah,  before  his  incarnation  as  well  as  after  it,  thus 
delights  to  describe  himself  as  the  Husband  and  the  church  as  his 
wife  ?  What  can  be  the  reason  that  he  constantly  exhibits  his  king- 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  187 

expect  to  visit  those  countries  ourselves;  what  delight 
ought  to  attend  the  perusal   of  an  authentic    account  of 

dom  to  us  under  the  idea  of  a  marriage  ?  What  can  it  be,  but  because 
the  tirst  and  original  marriage  exists  in  his  own  essence  ;  wherefore 
images  of  that  marriage  are  thence  derived  through  all  the  lower 
links  of  the  great  chain  of  existence,  down  to  the  last  boundaries  of 
created  nature  ?  Take  an  image  of  it  as  presented  by  the  sun  of  this 
world,  whicVi  is  often  referred  to  in  the  Scriptures  as  an  image  of  the 
Lord,  the  sun  of  righteousness.  Do  we  not  well  know  that  there 
must  be  two  distinct  principles  which  constitute  the  nature  of  that 
sun,  because  we  evidently  see  and  feel  that  two  distinct  things  pro- 
ceed from  it,  and  testify  their  existence  by  their  effects  ?  Do  there 
not  proceed  from  the  sun  both  heat  and  light  ?  And  do  we  not  find 
that  these  may  exist  either  separately  (or,  at  least,  in  very  unequal 
proportions)  or  together  ?  In  the  season  of  winter  the  light  is  as 
bright,  or  nearly  so,  as  in  the  middle  of  summer;  j^et because  it  is 
not  united  with  heat,  the  earth  is  bound  up  with  frost,  and  all  the 
objects  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  are  in  a  state  of  torpidity  and  com- 
parative death  :  but  when  spring  comes  on,  and  the  light  is  united 
with  heat,  all  things  bloom  and  bud,  and  nature  celebrates  the  sym- 
bolic marriage  by  rejoicing  through  all  her  domains.  Now  light  and 
heat  existing  in  their  first  principles  in,  and  thence  proceeding  from, 
the  sun  of  nature,  are  evident  symbols  of  love  or  goodness,  and  wis- 
dom 01  truth  existing  in  their  first  principles  in,  and  thence  proceed- 
ing from,  the  Lord  Himself,  the  eternal  source  of  all  things.  Fire  or 
heat  is  the  plain  symbol  of  love  ;  and  every  one  sees  that  light  is 
the  plain  symbol  of  truth ;  whence  nothing  is  more  common  than  to 
speak  of  warmili  o^  affection  and  of  the  light  of  truth.  The  apos- 
tle assures  us  in  plain  terras  (1  John  iv.  8)  that  God  is  love  ;  and  Je- 
sus Christ  declares  (John  viii.  12)  that  He  is  "  the  Light."  Doubt- 
less then  these  two  principles  exist  in  their  source  in  God  in  the 
most  perfect  union  :  they  unitedly  constitute  his  essential  nature  ; 
and  both  in  him  being  infinite,  their  union  must  be  infinitely  per- 
fect ;  there  can  be  no  disproporiion  betvreen  them  ;  no  preponder- 
ance of  the  one  ever  the  oiher.  All  that  Infinite  Love  desires,  Infin- 
ite Wisdom  can  direct  and  bring  into  effect ;  and  all  that  Infinite 
Wisdom  points  to  as  desirable.  Infinite  Love  can  inspire  and  ener- 
gize. Here  then  is  marriage,  in  its  first  source.  The  union  of  love 
and  wisdom  in  God  is  the  truly  divine  marriage,  and  is  essential  to 
the  very  nature  of  Deity;  and  from  this  divine,  this  thrice  holy 
source,  proceeds  all  that  can  justly  be  esteemed  marriage  in  lower 
spheres,  and  in  proportion  as  this  is  in  them,  all  inferior  unions,  each 
in  its  degree,  also  are  holy.  Hence  likewise  there  is  something  ana- 
logous to  the  male  and  female  character  even  in  inanimate  things. 
Hence  common  perception  teaches  men  to  consider  even  the  sun 
and  moon  as 

"  Communicating  male   and  female  light," 
and  to  deduce  thence  the  general,  sublime,  and  true  assertion, 
"  Which  two  great  sexes  animate  the  world." 
From  this  marriage,  then,  of  goodness  or  love  and  truth  or  wisdom 


188  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

that  eternal  country  to  which  we  are  all  hastening,  and 
with  what  interest  should  we  hang  over  a  favored  trav- 

ii  the  Deity  liimsclf,  next  flows  the  heavenly  marriage  between  the 
Lord  and  liis  church ;  which  is  effected  when  the  church  also  re- 
ceives, from  the  Lord,  love  and  wisdom  in  union.  The  church  has 
nothing  belonging  to  her  as  a  church,  but  what  she  receives  from 
the  Lord  ;  nevertheless,  she  tirst  exists  as  an  unbetrothed  virgin, 
next  as  a  bride,  and  finally  as  a  wife.  For  although  love  and  wis- 
dom, as  they  exist  in  union  in  the  Lord,  proceed  also  in  union  from 
him,  they  are  not  at  once  received  in  union  by  man.  Man,  being  in 
evil,  must  first  be  instructed  in  divine  truths,  and  thus  be  led  in  the 
path  of  repentance  and  reformation,  before  he  can  possibly  be  prin- 
cipled in  that  pure  goodness  to  which  all  genuine  truth  points,  and 
with  which  it  desires  to  be  conjoined.  While  then  the  church  is  in 
the  affection  of  truth,  but  has  not  yet  advanced  to  maturity  in  the 
appropriation  of  its  practical  tendency,  she  is  what  the  Scripture 
calls  a  virgin  :  when  she  is  matured  by  the  application  of  her  truths 
to  life,  and  is  in  the  ardent  desire  to  be  all  that  truth  has  opened  to 
her  conceptions,  and  thus  to  be  united  with  the  Lord,  the  Author 
both  of  her  truth  and  her  love,  she  is  what  the  Scripture  calls  a 
bride  :  and  when,  accordingh',  she  receives  the  Lord  as  to  the  love 
or  goodness  of  which  he  is  the  author,  in  the  same  degree  that  she 
receives  the  knowledge  of  his  truth  ;  when,  in  the  language  of  the 
divine  epithalamium  in  Ps.  xlv.  she  has  completely  forsaken  her 
oicn  people  and  her  father' s  house,  or  rejected  all  the  false  and  evil 
principles  which  adhere  to  her  by  nature  ;  then  it  is  that  her  mai'- 
riage  is  come,  and  that  the  Lord  calls  himself  her  husband  and  owns 
her  as  his  wife. 

It  is  in  this  marriage  then  of  goodness  and  ti'uth,  which  is  the 
same  thing  as  the  marriage  of  the  Lord  with  the  church,  that  heaven 
essentially  consists.  None  can  be  in  heaven,  but  those  with  whom 
goodness  and  truth,  thus  perfectly  united,  form  the  life  of  their 
minds.  With  those  who  are  there,  love  or  gooJness  is  the  vital 
heat,  truth  or  wisdom  is  a  light  that  emanates  from  it,  and  forms  as 
it  were  a  clothing  around  it.  Hence  it  is  said  of  Jehovah  himself 
(Ps.  civ.  2,)  that  he  covereth  himself  with  light  as  with  a  garment. 
To  we^irdiWedding  garment  then,  according  to  the  Scripture  phrase, 
is  to  be  principled  in  genuine  trulh  originating  in  genuine  goodness ; 
or,  what  is  the  same  thing,  to  be  principled  in  true  faith  grounded 
in  real  charity  :  but  not  to  have  on  a  wedding  garment,  is  to  be  in  the 
mere  profession  of  faith  without  any  charity,  in  which  case  the  faith 
also  is  not  genuine,  and  cannot  be  endured  in  heaven,  even  should  a 
hypocrite  now  and  then,  as  appears  horn  the  case  of  the  man  with- 
out a  wedding  garment  in  the  parable,  to  be  not  impossible,  insinuate 
himself  into  that  kingdom. 

This  view  of  the  nature  of  the  heavenly  marriage  must,  it  may 
be  presumed,  recommend  itself  to  every  one.  No  one  can  suppose 
that  any  man  can  be  entertained  in  heaven  who  is  not  principled  in 
both  the  great  heavenly  graces  of  faith  and  charity  ;  and  faith  is 
truth  really  seen  and  believed,  and  charity  is  goodness  really  felt 
and  loved  :  Each  is  essential  to  the  perfection  of  the  other,  and  with- 
out both,  neither  is  genuine.     How  justly  then  is  their  union  called 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    TIIEM.  189 

eller's  detail  of  the  familiar  incidents  which  are  there 
constantly  occurring,  and  in  which  we  must,  ere  long  be 

a  marriage!  And  how  evident  it  is,  that  in  such  a  marriage,  heaven 
must  essentiall}'  consist, — that  this  hes  at  the  source  of  all  its  per- 
fections and  beatitudes  ! 

But  it  is  certain  that  man  could  not  be  receptive  either  of  good- 
ness or  truth,  either  of  charity  or  faith,  from  the  Lord,  were  he  not 
created  -with  faculLies  adapted  for  their  entertainment.  Accordingly, 
he  has  two  great  faculties  in  his  mental  constitution,  of  which  all  his 
mental  powers  are  specific  modifications,  which  faculties  are  com- 
monly denominated  the  will  and  the  understanding  ;  the  will  being 
the  seat  of  all  man's  desires  and  affections,  and  the  understanding  the 
seat  of  all  his  thoughts  and  ideas.  The  understanding  can  compre- 
hend the  truths  of  religion  even  while  man  is  in  an  unregeneratc 
state,  —  otherwise  he  could  never  become  regenerate  at  all;  yet 
such  truths  are  never  agreeable  to  it  while  the  will  is  in  evil.  But 
the  will  cannot  love  gen^iinc  goodness,  except  by  regeneration  ;  al- 
though there  may  be  amiable  natural  affections,  such  as  those  of 
good  nature,  in  the  will,  by  birth.  The  heavenly  marriage  then 
consists  in  the  reception  of  goodness  in  the  will  as  well  as  of  truth  in 
the  understanding,  and  in  the  uniting  into  one  of  the  will  and  under- 
standing in  the  acknowledgment,  love,  and  service  of  the  Lord  :  and 
it  is  by  virtue  of  such  marriage  that  the  mind  becomes  replenished 
with  heavenly  graces  through  all  its  powers.  New  affections  of 
goodness,  and  new  perceptions  of  truth,  then  spring  up  in  it  every 
day  ;  which  are  a  spiritual  offspring,  flowing  from  the  union  of  good- 
ness and  truth  in  the  inmost  of  the  mind.  And  the  whole  is  the  re- 
sult of  the  divine  operation  of  the  Lord,  continually  flowing  into,  and 
rendering  fruitful,  the  goodness  and  truth  in  union  which  man  has 
received  from  him  :  thus  the  whole  of  the  spiritual  births  produced 
in  the  human  mind  are  derived  from  the  marriage  of  the  Lord  and 
the  church ;  for  which  reason,  also,  the  church  is  sometimes  de- 
scribed in  the  Word  as  a  mother ;  and  all  know  that  the  Lord  is  the 
universal  Father. 

This  then  is  the  case  with  every  one  who  becomes  regenerate, 
whether  manor  woman.  In  all,  the  heavenly  marriage  takes  place  ; 
and  each,  by  virtue  of  it,  becomes  a  member  of  the  bride  the  Lamb's 
wife.  I  say,  a  member  of  the  heavenly  bride  and  wife,  not  a  bride 
and  wife,  to  guard  against  enthusiastic  fancies  ;  into  which  some,  in 
various  denominations,  more  particularly  of  the  female  sex,  have 
fallen,  in  consequence  of  knowing  from  the  Word  that  the  Lord  is 
called  the  Husband  of  the  church,  v,'ithout  having  that  correct  ap- 
prehension of  the  subject  which  the  doctrines  of  our  church  impart : 
for  it  is  only  to  the  church  universal  considered  as  one  body,  that, 
in  a  strict  sense,  the  Lord  stands  in  the  character  of  a  Husband. 

But  in  order  that  this  heavenly  marriage  might  exist  in  greater 
fulness,  and  thus  that  his  divine  love  and  wisdom  with  their  accom- 
panying beatitudes  might  be  more  fully  received  in  heaven  and  in 
the  church,  the  Lord  has  also  been  pleased  so  to  form  the  human 
species,  by  creation,  that  two  minds  might  likewise  be  capable  of  a 
similar  intimate  union,  and  thus  become  a  real  one,  notwithstanding 
their  abiding  in  two  persons.     The  only  means  of  effecting  this,  was. 


190  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

called  to  take  our  share !     Thai  a  special  traveller  should 
be  empowered  to  communicate  such  information,  by  no 

so  to  form  the  human  race,  as  tliat  in  some  mind.^  affection  might 
most  decidedly  predominate,  and  in  others  intellect :  and  who  can 
deny  that  this  constitutes  the  first  distinction  of  the  male  and  female 
character  ?  The  difference  between  the  male  and  female  exists 
quite  as  decidedly  in  their  minds  as  in  their  outward  forms  ;  so  that 
if  it  were  possible  to  abolish  all  difference  in  the  shape  of  their  per- 
sons, this  would  by  no  means  be  sufficient  to  abolish  all  real  distinc- 
tion of  sex ;  the  sex  is  in  the  mind  also,  and  can  never  be  extirpated 
thence.  On  every  subject  whatsoever,  one  part  of  the  species  will 
ever  think  and  feel  as  men  and  the  other  as  women.  The  minds,  it 
is  true,  both  of  men  and  women,  are  constituted  both  of  will  and  in- 
tellect, affection  and  intelligence  :  but  who  does  not  see  that  the 
man  takes  his  distinouishina;  character  from  the  predominating 
strength  of  his  intellect,  and  woman  hers  from  the  predominating 
strength  of  her  affections  .'  Great  disputes  have  been  agitated  on 
the  question.  Whether  there  is  an  inferiority  on  the  part  of  females 
compared  with  men:  but  as,  unfortunately,  both  parties  have  looked 
on  intellect  as  the  distinguishing  faculty  of  the  human  race,  and  liave 
overlooked,  as  of  minor  importance,  the  no  less  essential  and  valua- 
ble attributes  of  will  and  reflection,  men,  in  asserting  their  preemi- 
nence, have  relied  on  the  former  alone,  and  female  writers,  with 
some  auxiliary  males,  in  denying  the  superiority,  have  allowed  the 
principle  for  which  it  is  claimed  to  be  the  right  criterion  of  it ;  and 
hence,  instead  of  making  good  their  claim,  as  they  might  have  done, 
had  they  only  asserted  a  general  equality,  have  failed,  through  claim- 
ing an  equality  in  the  same  principle  of  intellect.  Intellect  is  not  a 
more  excellent  attribute  than  affection,  and  in  affection,  undoubtedly, 
the  superiority  is  all  on  the  side  of  the  female  sex.  And  the  sexes 
were  thus  endowed  with  equal  but  distinct  excellences,  that  they 
might  not  engage  in  rivalry,  but  combine  in  union  :  that  female  af- 
fection might  both  soften  and  exalt  the  intellect  of  the  male,  and  that 
masculine  intellect  might  guide  and  protect  female  affection.  Affec- 
tion without  intellect  is  blind  ;  intellect  without  affection  is  dead  : 
when  united,  intellect  is  quickened  with  life,  affection  rejoices  in" 
light.  The  female  mind,  however,  is  by  no  means  destitute  of  in- 
tellect, nor  the  male  destitute  of  affection  ;  but  who  can  look  at  both, 
and  not  allow  that  the  two  principle?  exist  in  each  in  unequal  pro- 
portions, so  that  one,  only,  forms  the  predominating  characteristic  of 
each  .'  Hence  it  is  that  when  a  male  and  female  mind  really  enter 
into  interior  union,  which  never  can  take  place  but  where  both  are 
in  the  heavenly  marriage  of  goodness  and  truth,  the  perfection  of 
each  is  immensely  exalted,  and  with  it  the  happiness  ;  each  is  a 
more  perfect  angel  than  either  could  be  separately  ;  and  the  union 
of  minds  becomes  so  perfect,  that  before  the  Lord,  by  whom  minds 
only  are  looked  at,  they  become  as  one. 

This  then  is  that  marriage  which  w-e  affirm  to  be  perpetual,  and 
to  exist  in  heaven  :  and  is  it  not  evidently  founded  in  the  very  first 
principles  of  things,  in  the  verj^  first  laws  of  nature  ?  —  understand- 
ing by  the  laws  of  nature  those  which  determine  the  conditions  of 
things,  in  the  spiritual  as  well  as  in  the  material  worlds,  throughout 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN   THEM.  191 

means  exceeds  the  bounds  of  rational  credibility,  nor 
even  of  probability.     The  possibility  of  it  is  abundantly 

the  universe  of  creation.  The  marriage  of  goodness  and  truth  which 
constitutes  heaven  is  the  immediate  source  of  it :  itself  is  a  union  of 
minds  in  which  that  prior  marriage  exists  ;  and  the  outward  union  is 
only  a  true  marriage  where  there  is  the  inner  union  also :  without 
which,  notwithstanding  its  having  the  sanction  of  the  laws,  it  is  an 
impure  connexion,  tending  more  or  less  to  the  nature  of  adultery. 

It  is  "first  of  all  then  of  the  marriage  of  goodness  and  truth 
that  the  Lord  speaks  in  the  text  cited  above,  when  he  says  that 
he  which  made  them  in  the  beginning  made  them  male  and  female. 
By  male  and  female,  in  a  purely  spiritual  sense,  are  meant  the 
principles  of  intellect  and  will  as  formed  for  the  reception  of  truth 
and  goodness  respectively  ;  the  eternal  lau'^  of  order  and  of  God 
respecting  which  is,  that  they  should  be  united,  and  never  be  sep- 
arated by  the  self-derived  intelligence  of  man  ;  which  is  what  He 
means  when  He  says,  '*  What  therefore  God  hath  joined  together, 
let  not  man  put  asunder."  Secondly,  these  words  declare  the 
perpetuity  of  such  union  of  male  and  female  minds  as  originates 
in  the  marriage  of  goodness  and  truth.  This  is  in  fact  the  plain 
literal  sense  of  the  words  :  and  of  this  marriage  also  the  Divine 
Speaker  authoritatively  pronounces,  "  What  God  hath  joined  to- 
gether, let  not  man  put  asunder  :" — as  is  done  by  those  who  deny 
the  intrinsically  holy  nature  of  such  marriage,  and  affirm  that  it 
must  be  put  asunder  for  ever  by  death.  If  it  was  not  unworthy  of 
the  Paradise  in  v.-hich  man  was  placed  at  creation,  how  should  it 
be  unworthy,  when  exalted  to  the  same  degree  of  purity  as  crea- 
tion appointed  for  it,  of  the  Paradise  to  which  man  is  to  be  re- 
stored by  redemption  ?  To  accuse  then  a  writer  of  impurity,  be- 
cause he  restores  the  chaste  love  of  marriage  to  the  dignified  sta- 
tion assigned  it  by  the  Creator,  and  confirmed  by  the  Redeemer  ; 
vindicating  its  heavenly  origin,  and  shewing  it  to  possess  that 
perpetuity  vv^hich  every  thing  heavenly  must  inherently  carry 
with  it  ;  is  a  work  only  worthy  of  those  whom  the  celebrated  Mil- 
ton denounces  as  hypocrites  ; 

"  Whatever  hypocrites  austerely  talk 
Of  purity,  and  place,  and  innocence. 
Defaming  as  impure  what  God  declares 
Pure".—  P  .  L  iv.  744,  &c. 

So  in  his  beautiful  apostrophe  to  wedded  love,  he  says, 
"  Far  b3  it  I  should  write  thee  sin,  or  blam»5, 
Or  think  thee  unbefitting  holiest  place."  * 

lb.  758,  &c. 

What  Scripture  and  reason  thus  dictate,  follows,  also,  from  the  first 

of  the  two  general  truths  we  have  established  in  the   text  above. 

If  man  is  a  real  man  after  death  ;  and  if,  as  we  have  now  seen,  the 

origin  of  the  distinction  of  sex  is  in  the  spirit;  it  necessarily  follows, 

*  It  may  with  certainty  be  affirmed,  that  the  more  pure  and 
heavenly  any  mind  has  been,  the  more  has  it  been  inclined  to  as- 
cribe purity  and  perpetuity  to  this  heavenly   union.     Thus  the 


192  HEAVEN  AND  HELL! 


evinced  by  the  narratives  of  Sciipture;  and  the  facility 
of  it  is  demonstrated  by  the  views  of  man's  constitution, 

thill  human  beings  in  the  eternal  world  are  male  and  female  still; 
and  if  so,  that  there  are  unions  between  them.  It  equally  results 
from  our  second  general  truth.  For  if  all  the  circumstances  in  which 
the  angels  are  placed  are  representative  of  the  state  of  their  minds ; 
and  if  their  minds  are  in  the  heavenly  marriage  of  goodness  and 
truth  ;  it  follows  that  they  must  be  united  by  pairs  in  a  marriage 
expressive  of  that  within.  Besides,  what  gloom  and  discomfort  does 
the  other  supposition,  when  accurately  looked  at,  introduce  into  our 
idea  of  heaven !  Who  that  has  been  tenderly  and  virtuously  attached 
to  a  female,  and  has  walked  with  her  in  the  path  to  heaven,  would 


heavenly  minded  Mrs  Fletcher,  in  continuing  her  remarks  on  the 
continuance  of  her  union  with  her  deceased  husband,  from  which 
an  extract  is  made  in  the  text  above  (p.  171),  expresses  herself 
thus  :  *'  As  spiritual  union  arises  from  a  communication  of  the  love 
which  flows  from  the  heart  of  Christ,  I  cannot  but  believe  a  nearer 
approach  to  its  centre,  and  a  fuller  measure  of  that  divine  princi- 
ple, must  increase,  and  not  diminish,  the  union  between  kindred 
souls  ;  and  that  their  change  will  consist,  not  in  the  loss, but  in  the 
improvement,  of  all  good." — "  Will  not  [it  is  asked]  all  particular 
unions  cease  ?  and  is  it  not  the  design  of  God  that  death  should 
divide  ?  To  answer  this  objection  I  must  premise,  that  xchat  is 
of  God  shall  stand.  I  plead  only  for  that  union  which  has  God 
for  its  source  ;  and  I  think  it  will  not  be  hard  to  prove  that  what 
God  hath  joined  together,  death  cannot  put  asunder.  Division 
comes  not  from  God,  but  from  the  devil.  God,  both  in  his  nature 
and  works,  is  perfect  unity  ;  and  his  original  design  for  our  first 
parents  was  not  sorrow,  consequently,  not  separation.— If  we  sup- 
pose their  friendship  was  not  to  have  been  immortal,  we  must  sup- 
pose pain  to  be  in  paradise  :  for  Adam  could  not  v.'ithout  pain  in- 
form Eve  of  such  an  awful  secret,  that,  when  they  had  praised 
God  together  for  a  certain  time,  they  must  eternally  forget  each 
other. — Or  suppose  he  had  said,  Though  we  shall  have  a  bare  re- 
membrance of  each  transaction,  nevertheless  that  close  ujiioii,  that 
endearing  oneness  of  soul,  of  which  the  lore  of  God  was  the  found- 
ation,—that  very  union  hereafter  the  love  of  God  is  to  dissolve! 
This  would  indeed  have  been  in  itself  exceeding  bitter,  and  there- 
fore never  v/as  the  original  design  of  love.  It  was  sin  that  brought 
in  separation.  It  was  owing  to  the  hardness  of  our  hearts  ;  for  in 
the  beginning  it  was  not  so  ;for  God  created  one  man  and  one  wo- 
man.''— She  continues  in  the  same  strain  for  two  or  three  pages 
further,  in  which  she  introduces  this  sentence  of  Swedenborg's, 
*■■■  Similitude  joins,  but  dissimilitude  separates."  (Pp.  203,  204.) 
This  was  written  soon  after  her  husband's  death.  Two  years  after- 
wards she  writes,  ''  I  was  led  to  reflect  on  my  union  with  my  dear 
husband. — The  question  arose.  What  part  of  our  union  can  heaven 
dissolve  r  It  will  take  away  all  that  was  painful ;  such  as  our 
fears  for  each  other's  safety,  our  separations,  &c.  But  what  of 
the  pleasant  part  can  heaven  dissolve  .'  I  answered  from  the  bot- 
tom of  my  heart.  Nothing,  Lord,  nothing  !  Clear  as  light  it  appear- 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  193 

and  of  the  laws  of  the  spiritual  world,  discovered  in  the 
writings   of  Swedenborg.      Indeed,   many    divines   and 

not  feel  it  a  grievous  blow  to  his  happiness,  should  he  find  her,  there, 
totally  unlike  the  being  he  knew  here  ?  Could  there  even  be  any 
perfect  social  happiness  in  a  society  consisting  of  all  males,  or  all 
neuters  ?  Independently  of  its  use  in  the  continuance  of  the  species, 
is  not  the  division  into  sexes  a  most  beneficent  arrangement,  im- 
mensely adding  to  the  comforts,  and  harmonizing  the  intercourses  of 
the  human  race  ?  Is  it  not  then  reasonable  to  conclude,  that  this  use 
of  it  will  be  perpetuated,  where  the  former  ceases  ?  And  is  it  not  the 
essence  of  reason  to  conclude,  that  a  union  in  which,  in  its  genuine 
state,  is  concentered  all  that  is  heavenly  on  earth, — including  a  love 
which  prefers  another's  welfare  to  its  own,  and  a  joy  which  nothing 
but  such  a  love  can  inspire, — must,  when  exalted  to  its  highest  per- 
fection, be  among  the  highest  beatitudes  of  heaven  itself?* 


ed  to  me,  that  heaven  could  not  dissolve  anything  that  agreed 
with  its  own  nature.  Let  two  drops  of  water,  two  flames  of  fire, 
or  any  two  quantities  of  the  same  element  be  put  together  ;  they 
would  not  destroy  each  other,  but  would  be  increased.  So  what 
came  down  from  God  would,  when  returned  to  its  source,  live  for 
ever,  and  be  corroborated  but  not  lessened.  I  am  quite  at  a  loss,'" 
she  adds,  "  for  words  to  describe  the  feelings  of  that  hour;  but  it 
fixed  in  my  soul  an  assurance  of  our  eternal  union."  (Pp.  236, 237.^ 
And  though  she  outlived  her  husband  thirty  years,  her  journal,  till 
near  the  end,  contains  frequent  repetitions  of  her  convictions  of 
the  continuance  of  their  union,  and  her  sense  of  it.  (See  Pp.  255, 
275,  364,  394.)— Similar  to  the  feelings  of  Mrs  F.  in  regard  to  the 
perpetuity  of  her  union  with  her  departed  husband,  were  those  of 
the  pious  Newton  in  regard  to  his  with  his  departed  wife.  In  a 
poem  on  the  subject,  beautiful  more  for  sentiment  than  expression, 
he  says, 

*'  Shall  one  so  favored  e'er  repine 
Or  one  so  vile  complain  ? 
No  !  Let  me  praise  !   She  long  was  mine, 

And  shall  be  mine  again. 
If  death  could  break  our  union  past, 

Frail,  though  endeared,  the  tie  : 
The  stronger  band  of  love  shall  last. 
When  death  itself  shall  die." 
And  the  inspirations  of  the  Muse. have   dictated  the  same  truth, 
even  where  the  ordinary  habits  of  the  mind  might  be  supposed  to 
have  closed  it   to  a  perception  so  heavenly  :  witness  the  following 
stanza  of  Byron's : 

''  There  are  two  souls  whose  equal  flow 
In  gentle  streams  so  calmly  run. 
That  when  they  part — they  part  ! — ah  no  ! 
They  cannot  part — those  souls  are  one." 

*  It  is  necessary  here  to  observe,  that  our  accusers,  because  they 
have  purely  Sadducean  notions  of  marriage  to  accompany  their  half 

17 


194  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

philosophers  have  seen  that  man  is  by  creation  a  subject 
of  both  worlds,  the  spiritual  and  the  natural.     If  by  his 

On  the  whole  :  If  the  plain  testimony  of  Scripture,  the  most  ob- 
vious deductions  of  Reason,  and  the  most  decided  convictions  of  the 
intelligent  and  pious,  be  suificient  to  determine  this  question,  no 


Sadducean  notions  of  the  resurrection, — whence,  like  the  Sadducees 
in  the  gospel,  they  "  do  err,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures,  nor  the 
power  of  God,"  think  they  find  a  contradiction  to  these  sentiments  in 
the  Lord's  answer  to  the  Sadducees,  denying  the  existence  of  their 
sort  of  marriages  in  heaven.  The  Sadducees  asked  whose  wife  a 
woman  that  had  had  seven  husbands  should  be  in  the  resurrection. 
To  whom  Jesus  answered,  "  Ye  do  err,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures, 
nor  the  power  of  God.  For  in  the  resurrection  they  neither  marry 
nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  as  the  angels  of  God  in  heaven." 
(Mat.  xxii.  29,  30.)  In  the  term  "  resurrection,"  it  is  to  be  observ- 
ed, is  not  included  "  the  resurrection  of  damnation,"  but  simply, 
"the  resurrection  of  life,"  that  is,  the  heavenly  state;  hence  it  is 
said  that  they  are  "  as  the  angels  of  God  in  heaven  :"  and  to  the  (ruth 
of  the  answer,  thus  limited,  most  unquestionably,  no  exception  can 
be  made.  It  is  true  that  there  are  no  such  merely  carnal  connex- 
ions as  the  Sadducees  spoke  of,  which  it  is  a  degradation  of  the  name 
to  call  marriages,  in  heaven  at  all ;  there  can  be  no  such  thing 
there  as  the  transferring  of  a  woman  from  one  man  to  another,  nor 
any  such  connexion  as  such  transfer  implies  :  but  it  does  not  hence 
follow  that  there  are  in  heaven  no  marriages  which  have  for  their 
essence  that  marriage  of  goodness  and  truth,  which  is  the  essence  of 
heaven  itself.  It  is  also  true,  that  the  marriage  of  goodness  and 
truth,  if  not  commenced  on  earth,  cannot  be  originated  after  death. 
It  is  in  this  world  that  charity  must  be  joined  with  faith,  and  both 
with  the  Lord :  otherwise  this  never  can  be  done  hereafter.  But 
though  this  truth  might  5deld  a  sufficient  solution  of  the  difficulty, 
it  does  not  appear  to  be  to  the  marriage  of  goodness  and  truth,  nor 
to  any  unions  originating  therein,  that  the  passage  specifically  relates. 
It  appears  evident  from  the  phraseology  used  in  this  answer  to  the 
Sadducees,  com.pared  with  that  of  the  former  answer  to  the  Phari- 
sees, that  the  marriage  here  spoken  of  is  the  opposite  of  the  other, — 
the  marriage  of  evil  and  falsehood,  and  such  outward  marriages  as 
have  this  for  their  essence,  and  not  the  marriage  of  goodness  and 
truth,  and  such  outward  marriages  as  draw  their  essence  thence. 
For  in  the  answer  to  the  Pharisees,  the  Lord  is  mentioned  as  tJie  au- 
thor of  the  union, — '•  What  God  hath  joined  together  ;"  but  in  this 
to  the  Sadducees  the  marriages  spoken  of  are  those  which  proceed 
from  the  mere  self  will  of  man,  without  being  in  any  way  referred  to 
God  at  all, — "  they  neither  marry," — as  men  of  their  own  motion, — 
"  nor  are  given  in  marriage," — as  women  by  their  relatives  ;  which 
form  of  expression  is  admirably  expressive  of  what  originates  from 
man  and  not  from  God,  as  do  all  unions  of  evil  and  error,  and  all 
marriages  in  which  evil  and  error  are  inwardly  regarded.  Accord- 
ingly, in  the  only  other  passage  in  which  the  same  phrase  occurs, 
this  is  obviously  its  meaning  :  "  As  in  the  days  that  were  before  the 
flood,  they  were  eating  and  drinking,  marrying  and  giving  in  mar- 


AND  THE  APPEARANCES  IN  THEM.         195 

spirit  he  belongs  to  the  spiritual  world,  and  he  has  a 
sspii-it  ^vithin  Linn  wkilo  ho  Kves  in  the  body;  it   cannot 

question,  it  appears,  can  be  more  conclusively  aecided.  The  Lord 
himself  is  a  Husband,  and  heaven  is  a  marriage.  Of  such  marria- 
ges as  originate  in  the  marriage  of  goodness  and  truth,  the  Truth  It- 


riage,  until  the  day  that  Noe  entered  the  ark,  and  knew  not  till  the 
flood  came  and  took  them  all  aveay."  (Mat.  xxiv.  38,  39.)  Evi- 
dently, in  the  wicked  persons  who  perished  by  the  flood,  no  spiritual 
marriage  but  that  of  evil  and  falsehood  could  be  fornied ;  and  by 
them  no  natural  marriages  but  such  as  are  outward  forms  of  the 
same  could  be  contracted ;  and  if  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
the  same  phrase  bears  the  same  sense  when  it  occurs  elsewhere 
under  similar  circumstances,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  is  the 
sense  which  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage  bears  in  the  case  be- 
fore us.  Thus  understood,  the  answer  to  the  Sadducees  and  that  to 
the  Pharisees  are  in  strict  agreement ;  otherwise  they  are  in  direct 
opposition.  If  we  suppose  the  true  meaning  of  the  answer  to  the 
Sadducees  to  be,  that  in  heaven  there  are  no  marriages  whatsoever, 
the  answer  to  the  Pharisees  is  flatly  contradicted ;  for  that  answer 
admits  of  no  explanation  which  will  reconcile  it  with  this  notion. 
The  statement  there  made  is  of  the  most  uncompromising  kind. 
The  union  of  the  sexes  is  declared  to  be  a  provision  of  the  Divine 
Economy  from  the  beginning,  to  be  effected  under  the  Divine  Au- 
spices, and,  when  so  effected,  to  partake  of  the  Divine  Perpetuity ; 
whilst  all  separation  is  declared  to  originate  from  man  himself;  he  is 
forbidden  to  cause  it,  and  its  permission  in  any  case  is  ascribed  to  the 
hardness  of  his  heart.  "  He  which  made  them  at  the  beginning  made 
them  male  and  female,  and  said,  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave 
father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife :  and  they  ticain  shall 
he  one  flesh.  WHEREFORE,  THEY  ARE  NO  MORE  TWAIN 
BUT  ONE  FLESH.  WHAT  THEREFORE  GOD  HATH  JOIN- 
ED TOGETHER,  LET  NOT  MAN  PUT  ASUNDER.— Moses, 
because  of  the  hardness  of  your  hearts,  suffered  you  to  put  away 
your  wives :  but  from  the  beginning  it  was  not  so."  When  it  is  here 
said,  "  Jflierefore,  the ij  are  no  viore  twain,  hvt  one  flesh,"  have  we 
not  the  most  explicit  assurance,  that  a  pair  so  united  can  never  be 
sundered  any  more  ?  What  else  can  be  the  purport  of  the  emphatic 
v,-ords  *'  no  more?  "  And  when  it  is  added, "  What  therefor t  God  hath 
joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder,''  are  we  not  assured,  as 
Mrs  Fletcher  explains  it,  that  '•  what  is  of  God  shall  stand  ?"  To 
suppose  that  death  can  divide  what  God  has  united,  is,  also,  not  only 
to  make  death  stronger  than  Omnipotence,  but  it  is  also  to  contradict 
the  text,  "  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?"  for,  as  Mrs  Fletcher  again 
observes,  in  a  passage  not  before  quoted,  "  If  death  can  eternally 
separate  kindred  spii  its,  he  hath  eternally  a  sting."  (p.  205.)  It  is 
impossible  then  to  suppose  that  the  divine  declaration  is  confined  to 
unions  in  this  life  :  for  this  would  not  only  be  to  exalt  the  power  of 
death  above  that  of  God,  but  to  make  empty  words  of  the  statement, 
"  They  are  no  more  twain."  And  doubtless,  if  the  order  of  Crea- 
tion, and  the  design  of  the  Creator,  are,  that  the  human  race  should 
be  united  indissolubly  in  pairs,  the  circumstance  of  such  a  union  not 


196  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

be  difficult  for  him  who  is  the  Author  of  both  to  open 
the  senses  of  his  spirit  f>von  Tviiilo  hu  Uy^o  in  the  bod/; 

self_(iud  iiicurnate — declares,  that  they  shall  never  be  put  asunder; 
and  all  who  by  living  near  to  heaven,  or  by  the  occasional  illapses 
of  a  heaven-descended  intelligence,  have  been  qualified  to  judge  of 
the  subject  correctly  have  here  set  to  their  seal,  that  God  is  true. 


having  commenced  in  this  life  cannot  prevent  its  accomplishment 
in  the  other.  Thus  then  the  meaning  of  this  answer  to  the  Phari- 
sees is  most  explicit,  and  it  admits  of  no  interpretation  which  will 
reconcile  it  to  the  answer  to  the  Sadducees,  if  that  be  supposed  to 
affirm  that  in  the  other  life  there  are  no  marriages  whatsoever  ; 
whereas  if  we  understand  the  answer  to  the  Sadducees  to  mean, 
what,  we  have  seen,  the  same  phraseology  certainly  does  mean  else- 
where,— that  in  heaven  there  are  no  marriages  originating  in  the  union 
of  evil  and  falsehood, — all  appearance  of  contradiction  disappears  ; 
and  the  declaration,  that  "  in  the  resurrection  they  neither  marry 
nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  as  the  angels  of  God  in  heaven  ;" 
harmonizes  most  beautifully  with  the  other  declaration,  that  they 
who  are  in  the  marriage  which  originates  in  the  union  of  goodness 
and  truth,  as  are  all  "  the  angels  in  heaven,"  "  are  no  more  twain,  but 
one  flesh,"  and  that  "  what  God  hath  joined  together,"  it  is  not  for 
man  to  "  put  asunder." 

It  is  probable  indeed  that  the  Sadducees,  like  many  who  have 
come  after  them,  understand  the  Lord  to  affirm  that  in  heaven  there 
are  no  marriages  whatsoever  :  but  it  was  quite  customary  with  the 
Lord  to  give  such  answers  to  those  who  conversed  with  him  as  were 
understood  by  them  in  a  contrary  sense  to  the  true  one,  without  his 
correcting  their  misapprehensions  ;  according  to  his  own  statement, 
that  he  spoke  "to  those  who  were  without  in  parables  "  or  dark  say- 
ings, "  that  hearing  they  might  hear  and  not  understand,"  Thus  we 
read  (John  ii.  18  to  21,)  "  The  Jews  said  unto  him,  What  sign  shew- 
est  thou  unto  us,  seeing  thou  doesi  these  things  ?  Jesus  answered 
and  said  unto  them.  Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days  I  will 
raise  it  up.  Then  said  the  Jews,  Forty  and  six  years  was  this  tem- 
ple in  building  ;  and  wilt  thou  rear  it  up  in  three  days  ?  But,"  adds 
the  evangelist,  "he  spake  of  the  temple  of  his  body."  He  did  not 
however  tell  them  so,  but  lefl  them  to  their  own  notions.  Just  so  in 
his  answer  to  the  Sadducees.  He  answered  their  questions  in  a 
sense  strictly  true.  He  told  them  that  there  were  no  marriages 
such  as  alone  they  thought  of  in  heaven,  —  such  as  are  of  the  natu- 
ral man  alone,  and  not  of  the  spiritual  man,  and  which  thus  have 
their  true  origin  in  the  man  of  evil  and  error  :  and  he  left  them  to 
understand  his  words  also  in  a  sense  not  true,  and  to  suppose  that  in 
heaven  there  are  no  marriages  whatever.  The  reason  of  this  con- 
duct, in  this  instance,  is  obvious.  It  is  impossible  to  impart  to  such 
characters  as  the  Sadducees  pure  and  elevated  ideas  on  the  subject 
of  marriage.  Explain  it  as  you  will,  they  will  still  attach  to  it  their 
gross  and  merely  carnal  conceptions.  It  is  better  then  for  such  per- 
sons to  think  that  in  heaven  there  are  no  marriages  at  all,  than  to 
think  there  are  any  such  connexions  there  as  they  call  by  the  name  ; 
for  this  would  indeed  be  to  carnalize  heaven.     Hence  Divine  Truth 


AND    THE    APrEAEANCES    IN    THEM.  197 

he  must  then  be    at  once  perceptibly    amid  the  objects 
of  the  spiritual  world,  in  the  same  manner  as  he  will  be 

2.  We  are  now  to  pass  to  a  less  pleasino;  subject.  If  it  be  certain 
that  such  marriages  as  originate  in  the  heavenly  marriage  of  good- 
ness and  truth  exist  in  heaven,  and  this  by  reason  that  man  after 
death  is  still  a  man,  and  the  distinction  of  sex  exists  in  the  spirit ; 
and  that  the  circumstances  in  which  spirits  and  angels  are  placed 
are  all  such  as  correspond  to,  and  are  expressive  of,  their  internal 
state ;  it  will  follow  also,  that  such  marriages  as  the  Sadducees 
thought  of,  which  are  connexions  of  the  sexes  originating  in  the  in- 
fernal marriage  of  evil  and  falsehood,  and  which  the  Lord  declares 
do  not  exist  in  heaven,  exist  in  hell.  According  to  Swedenborg,  the 
state  of  every  one's  mind  in  regard  to  the  connexion  of  the  sexes 
always  agrees  exactly  with  the  state  of  his  mind  in  regard  to  his  re- 
ception of  the  gi'aces  constituent  of  the  church  :  hence,  all  in  whom 
the  church  really  is,  think  chastely  of  marriage,  and  regard  adultery 
with  aversion  and  even  horror ;  whereas  all  who  are  opposed  to  the 
principles  of  the  church,  think  unchastely  of  marriage,  and  regard 
adultery  with  pleasure,  even  though,  by  external  considerations, 
they  may  be  restrained  from  practising  it :  thus  such  characters  are 
truly  adulterers,  even  when  they  remain  within  the  forms  of  mar- 
riage. As  then  man's  state  in  regard  to  the  connexion  of  the  sexes 
always  keeps  pace  with  his  state  in  regard  to  the  principles  of  the 
church,  all  who  are  in  heaven  are  in  the  love  of  marriage,  and  all 
who  are  in  hell  are  in  the  love  of  adultery ;  the  former  are  chaste 
conjugal  partners,  the  latter  are  foul  adulterers  and  harlots.  But  it 
would  be  a  great  error  hence  to  conclude,  that  in  hell  is  permitted, 
as  Mr  B.  expresses  it,  ard  to  which  he  repeatedly  turns,  as  a  cir- 
cumstance so  inviting,  "  the  indulgence  of  keeping  a  harlot,"  in  the 
manner  that  the  dissolute  practice  it  on  earth.  The  dissolute  keep 
harlots  on  earth,  because  they  are  not  bound  by  the  same  duties  to 
them  as  to  a  wife  ;  because  they  do  not  consider  themselves  under, 
to  them,  any  obligation  of  fidelity,  and  can  dismiss  or  change  them  at 
pleasure  ;  thus,  because,  as  is  so  often  boasted,  they  retain  their 
liberty,  and  are  not  under  an  irksome  restraint,  as  such  characters 
esteem  the  tie  of  marriage.  But  in  hell  such  license  is  not  permit- 
ted. A  wicked  man,  when  become  a  spirit,  is  indeed  allowed  to  as- 
sociate himself  with  one  of  the  opposite  sex  ;  and  all  the  females 
there  are  by  Swedenborg  called  harlots,  because  they  are  all  such 
in  heart,  and  because  it  would  be  a  prostitution  of  the  title  to  apply 
to  such  the  sacred  name  of  wife  ;  but,  as  is  even  stated  in  a  passage 
cited  by  Mr  B.  to  support  his  calumnies,  "  he  is  forbid,  on  pain  of 


in  mercy  speaks  to  such  characters  in  proverbs:  hence  the  Saddu- 
cees were  left  to  believe,  as  better  for  them,  that  in  heaven  there 
are  no  marriages  at  all  :  and  hence  Divine  Providence  so  overrules 
men's  apprehensions  of  heavenly  things,  as  is  best  for  their  own 
states,  that  they  who  are  still  incapable  of  forming  any  but  carnal 
conceptions  of  the  divine  institution  of  marriage,  will  never  be  per- 
suaded, even  by  the  clear  light  in  which  the  subject  is  placed  in  the 
writings  of  Swedenborg,  that  it  exists  in  heaven. 
17* 


198  HEAVEN    AND    HELL  ; 

after  death;  and  accordingly,  we  have  seen,  it  was  thus 
that  views  of  the  spiritual  world  have  been  vouchsafed 

punishment,  to  connect  himself  with  more  than  one."  Thus  those 
whom  Swedenborg  calls  harlots,  Mr  B.  would  call  "  their  lawful 
wives  :  "  (See  Anti-S.  p.  68  :)  and  then,  perhaps,  the  delightful  fas- 
cination, which  he  represents  as  inseparably  connected  with  the 
name  o[  harlot,  would  be  gone.  As  to  the  delightfulness  of  such 
cohabitation,  it  may  be  in  some  measure  appreciated  from  what  is 
experienced  by  those  who  are  tied  to  an  utterly  abandoned  compan- 
ion here  ;  and  when  this  is  the  character  of  both,  it  is  well  known 
that  such  scenes  of  horror  even  here  arise,  as  every  one  acknow- 
ledges to  exhibit  on  earth  an  image  of  hell.  What  then  must  be  the 
case  in  hell  itself,  where  as  Swedenborg  affirms,  they  not  only  soon 
regard  each  other  with  the  utmost  coldness  and  disgust,  "but  they 
interiorly  burn  with  deadly  hatred  against  each  other,  which  is  so 
great  as  to  admit  of  no  description!  "     (H.  H.  n.  377.) 

If  then  the  distinction  of  sex  is  rooted  in  the  spirit,  it  is  certain  that 
there  must  be  connexions  between  the  sexes  in  hell  as  v;ell  as  in 
heaven  :  but  those  in  hell,  it  is  evident,  must  be  of  a  diametrically 
opposite  character  to  those  in  heaven.  Where  there  is  the  infernal 
marriage  of  evil  and  falsehood  in  the  mind,  as  is  the  case  with  all  in 
hell,  the  connexions  between  the  sexes  must  derive  their  essence 
from  that  origin  ;  and  as  all  evil  is  inseparably  conjoined,  in  the  other 
life,  with  punishment  and  misery,  such  infernal  marriages,  alias 
adulteries,  can  be  productive  of  no  sensations  which  have  not  misery 
in  their  centre.  Whether  these  can  yet  be  so  delightful  as  to  out- 
weigh all  the  other  miseries,  with  which,  as  we  have  seen  above, 
the  inhabitants  of  hell  are  pursued,  and  to  make  hell  a  place  to 
which  "  our  paupers  may  go  on  speculation,"  let  the  reader  judge. 
The  circumstances  that  we  will  next  vindicate  from  aspersion, 
may  be  stated  in  the  follov.'ing  proposition.  That  those  who  die  as 
infants  or  children  all  go  to  heaven  ;  hut  that  at  first  they  appear 
as  children  still,  and  arc  educated  hy  the  viinistry  of  angels  till 
they  become  adult  angels  themselves ;  and  that  in  the  mean  time  they 
are  instructed  by  such  representations  of  hcavenhj  things  as  arc 
suited  to  their  tender  capacities,  and  are  alloiccd  such  recreations 
as  arc  congenial  to  their  state.  Proposed  in  these  terms,  what  is 
there  here  to  which  the  rational  faculty  does  notimmediatly  assent? 
Ye\.  this  it  precisely  what  Swedenborg  has  advanced,  however  Mr 
B.  may  hold  up  his  statements  to  ridicule. 

When  a  man  dies  at  an  adult  age  and  in  a  state  of  regeneration, 
we  may  suppose  that  he  is  qualified  presently  to  appear  in  heaven 
as  an  angel :  but  who  can  imagine  that  the  case  is  the  same  with 
the  dying  infant  ?  The  infant  is  indeed  in  a  state  of  innocence  ;  it 
has  never  committed  or  appropriated  anything  evil,  and  thus  is 
secure  from  hell ;  but  its  innocence  is  the  innocence  of  ignorance, 
not  as  yet  that  of  wisdom  :  it  as  yet  is  incapable  of  appropriating 
good  :  consequently  it  is  not  as  yet  prepared  to  take  its  place  as  an 
angel.  An  angel  is  a  form  of  love  and  wisdom  derived  from  the 
Lord ;  an  infant  has  capacities  for  becoming  such  a  form  :  but  it  is 
not  made  such  a  one  by  mere  death.  As  an  infant  is  born  with 
only  the  rudiments  of  a  perfect  human  body,  so  also  is  it  born,  we 


Ai\D    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  199 

to  prophets  and  others.     Is  it  at  all  surprising  then,  that 
such  an  opening  of  the  spiritual  sight  should  take  placo 

know  full  well,  with  only  the  rudiments  of  a  perfect  human  mind, 
or  which  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  of  a  perfect  human  spirit, 
since  it  is  the  spirit  which  is  the  seat  of  the  mind  :  and  the  one  is  to 
be  successively  developed  and  perfected,  as  well  as  the  other.  To 
suppose  then  that,  if  it  passes  in  this  state  into  the  eternal  world, 
the  mind  and  spirit  will  instantly  expand  into  the  fulness  of  the 
standard  of  an  angel,  is  just  as  reasonable  as  to  imagine,  that  a 
new  born  child  may  expand  in  an  instant  into  the  stature  of  a  man. 
There  surely  then  cannot  be  a  shadow  of  doubt,  that  when  an  in- 
fant enters  the  spiritual  world  by  death,  it  will  appear  there  in  a 
form  exactly  answering  to  the  infantile  state  of  its  mind  :  conse- 
quently, it  must  appear  there,  and  be,  an  infant  still.  As  the  fac- 
ulties of  its  mind  are  developed,  and  it  advances  in  wisdon),  it  will 
advance  also  to  the  form  and  appearance  of  the  adult  angel.  It  is 
reasonable  to  imagine,  as  Swedenborg  assures  us,  that  in  that  world 
of  higher  perfection  its  advancement  will  be  far  more  rapid  than  is 
possible  here  :  yet  even  there  the  rudiments  of  wisdom  must  first 
be  inseminated,  and  afterwards  be  cultivated  and  enlarged,  before 
the  mature  angelic  state  can  be  attained.  Now  under  what  aus- 
pices is  this  to  be  effected  ?  Doubtless,  under  those  of  the  Lord, 
who  is  the  only  Parent  known  in  heaven,  and  whose  especial  care 
and  providence,  according  to  the  dictates  of  reason  and  the  state- 
ments of  Swedenborg,  watch  over  the  v.^elfare  of  helpless  and  in- 
nocent children.  But  is  it  to  be  supposed  that  he  will  lead  them 
to  maturity  there,  any  more  than  he  does  here,  without  deigning  to 
associate  any  of  their  fellow  creatures  in  the  important  task  ? 
Scripture  informs  us  that,  even  while  here,  infants  are  under  the 
guardianship  of  angels  exercised  under  the  particular  providence 
of  the  Lord  :  "  Take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these  little 
ones ;  for  I  say  unto  you,  that  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always 
behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven"  (Mat.  xviii. 
10). — Is  it  then  to  be  supposed,  that,  by  passing  from  this  world 
into  the  other,  they  not  only  lose  their  human  parents  but  their 
angelic  guardians  too ;  that  to  them  the  eternal  world  is  an  immense 
desert,  where  no  protectors  are  near, — v/here,  though  helpless  in- 
fants still,  they  are  friendless  and  alone  ?  Will  no  kind  angel  min- 
ister to  them  in  the  tender  manner  which  their  state  requires  ?  Is 
it  the  part  either  of  the  rational  mind  or  of  the  feeling  heart  to  rid- 
icule such  ministrations,  by  applying  to  them,  as  Mr  B.  does,  the 
contemptuous  title  of  "  nursing  inhearen  .?"  Is  there  any  among 
the  natural  affections  so  exalted  as  that  of  the  love  of  children  ? 
Is  anything  more  affecting  to  be  seen  on  earth,  than  the  care  of  a 
fond  mother  for  her  offspring,  and  the  delight  with  which  she  min- 
isters to  their  helplessness.'  Is  not  the  implantation  of  parental 
love  in  the  human  breast  one  of  the  most  striking  products  of  the 
divine  love  in  the  Great  Parent  of  all,  and  one  that  most  nearly 
imitates  its  original  ?  Is  it  not  then  to  be  concluded,  that  this  af- 
fection, which  is  heavenly  even  on  earth,  will  not  be  extinguished, 
but  exalted,  on  transplantation  into  heaven  itself,  and  that  they 
who  have  here  been  eminently  influenced  by  a  love  to   children 


200  HEAVEN   AND    HELL  ; 

in  an  extraordinary  manner,  with  one  individual,  at  the 
era  of  the  Lord's  second  coming?  Most  people  believe, 
that  in  the  primeval  ages  of  the  world  man  lived  in  per- 
petual society  with  angels,  and  that  it  was  not  till  he  had 
far  descended  in  degeneracy  that  it  came  to  be  the  char- 
acter of  "  angel  visits"  to  be  "  few  and  far  between:" 
and  most  people  believe  also,  that  in  the  latter  ages  of 
the  world  such  communications  will  be  restored,  and 
angels  will  again  be  closely  associated  v/ith  men:  is  it 
then  at  all  unreasonable  to  expect,  that,  as  preparatory 
to  such  a  state,  should  it  be  the  purpose  of  Providence 
to  produce  it,  or  in  lieu  of  it,  should  that  be  v/ithout  the 
provisions  of  the  Divine  Economy,  some  distinct,  accu- 
rate, precise,  and  even  familiar  knowledge,  respecting 
the  eternal  world,  its  appearances,  its  inhabitants,  and 
its  laws,  should  be  communicated,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  one  commissioned  herald,  to  beings  who 
belong  to  it,  in  part,  even  now,  and  are  soon  to  belong 
to  it  altogether?  When  man's  former  state,  and  his  still 
unaltered  nature  as  a  subject  of  both  worlds,  are  reflect- 
ed on,  the  wonder  surely  is,  that  the  world  of  which  his 
better  part  is  a  native  and  a  denizen  should  ever  have 
become  so  shut  out  from  him,  and  all  particular  know- 
will  be  animated  by  a  corresponding  but  spiritual  affection  for  them 
there,  and  will  be  impelled  by  it  to  undertake,  with  the  utmost  de- 
light, the  charge  of  the  infant  spirits  v/hichare  continually  passing 
thither  ?  If  Mr  B.  will  put  this  inquiry  to  the  ladies  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, the  hearts  of  all  of  them,  I  am  sure,  will  dictate  an 
affirmative  answer.  Common  perception  appears  to  inform  every 
reflecting  mind,  that  such  must  be  the  fact ; — that  the  task  of  re- 
ceiving the  children  who  go  thither,  and  nurturing  their  innocent 
but  unformed  minds  in  the  accomplishments  of  heavenly  wisdom, 
must  be  one  of  the  most  delightful,  and  one  of  the  most  gene- 
ral, of  the  employments  of  angels.  Let  then  Mr  B.  be  careful 
how  he  extinguishes  in  himself  or  others  the  principle  that 
would  take  delight  in  such  offices,  and  how  he  too  proudly  disdains, 
what  no  sneers  can  degrade,  the  sweetest  exercises  of  charit3^ 
Infants,  when  first  landed  on  the  eternal  shore,  must  need  such 
exercises  from  some  quarter  ;  and  they  by  whose  instrumentality 
the  Lord  administers  them,  doubtless  regard  it  as  a  high  privilege, 
and  feel  in  it  the  most  delicious  enjoyment.  Insensibility,  we  may 
be  assured,  is  not  an  inmate  of  angelic  breasts  ;  and  heaven  is  not 
peopled  with  a  starched  and  stiffened  race,  who  deem  it  beneath 
their  high  vocation  to  descend  to  the  softest  and  most  affecting 
duties  of  the  meekest  tenderness  and  love.  "  Suffer  the  little 
children  to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not  ;  for  of  such  i= 
the  kino-dom  of  God." 


i 


AND    THE    APPEARANCES    IN    THEM.  201 

lerig©  roopooting  it  SO  Utterly  lost, — not  that  they  should 
again  be  restored:  and  when  could  their  restoration  be 
more  appropriately  in  place,  than  among  the  blessings 
attendant  on  the  second  coming  of  the  Lord,  and  conse- 
quent upon  the  performance  of  the  last  judgment? 
Whilst  then  there  is  so  much  to  give  probability  on  this 
subject  to  the  statements  of  Swedenborg,  and  nothing 
which,  fairly  estimated,  detracts  at  all  from  their  credi- 
bility; whilst  all  the  particulars  advanced,  when  their 
causes  are  understood,  are  found  to  be  in  the  strictest 
agreement  both  with  Scripture  and  Reason;  they 
surely  may  be  pressed  upon  the  Candid  and  Reflecting 
as  in  the  highest  degree  worthy  of  their  attention,  be- 
cause conveying  information  of  the  highest  interest  to 
man  as  an  immortal. 


SECTION  VII. 


The    Trinity,  as   centered   in   the   Person   af   the    Lord 
Jesus   Christ. 

Having  gone  through  all  the  "  curious"  subjects 
objected  against  in  the  sentiments  held  by  us  as  those 
of  the  New  Church  predicted  under  the  figure  of  a  New 
Jerusalem, — being  chiefly  those  which  are  connected 
with  our  Views  of  the  Eternal  World  and  State, — I  am 
now  to  appeal  to  you,  my  Reflecting  and  Candid  Read- 
ers, in  regard  to  our  Doctrines  of  Faith  and  Life 
This  is  the  part  of  the  general  subject  which  is.  in  reality, 
of  far  the  highest  importance:  it  is  the  part  of  the  sub- 
ject, also,  on  which  every  well-disposed  mind,  having 
the  Word  of  God  to  refer  to,  may  most  readily  determine 
whether  our  sentiments  are  well  founded:  and  it  is  the 
part  of  the  subject  in  regard  to  which,  as  we  think,  we 
are  able  most  conclusively  to  evince,  that  our  senti- 
ments are  those  of  the  AYord  of  God  itself  Were  I 
then  to  adopt  that  course  which  I  should  most  prefer,  I 
should  dwell  most  at  length  on  our  Doctrines  of  Faith 
and  Life;  and  then  again  appeal  to  you  to  judge,  whether 


202 


THE     TRINITY. 


a  writer  who,  like  the  illustrious  Swedenhorj^,  wnq  ena- 
bled to  present,  in  so  clear  a  light,  the  certain  dictates 
of  truth  upon  every  subject  in  which  we  are  most  inter- 
ested as  Christians,  and  so  completely  to  clear  the  clouds 
which  have  so  long  hung  over  the  doctrinal  interpreta- 
tion of  Holy  Writ;  and  who  has  done  this,  as  he  assures 
us,  by  virtue  of  a  special  illumination,  bestowed  on 
him  as  the  herald  of  the  second  advent;  could  possibly 
be  deceived  in  this  assertion,  or  in  anything  else  which 
he  advances.  But,  as  observed  above,  I  here  am  com- 
pelled to  direct  my  course  in  the  direction  marked  out 
for  me  by  our  opponents,  and  particularly  by  the  Rev. 
Mr  Beaumont.  As  he  has  filled  the  greatest  part  of 
his  Anti-Swedenborg  with  observations  and  extracts  in- 
tended to  throw  ridicule  on  the  views  of  the  eternal 
world  and  state  presented  in  the  writings  of  Swedenborg, 
and  on  the  character  of  Swedenborg  himself;  and  as 
these  also  are  the  subjects  in  regard  to  which  the  most 
unfounded  and  injurious  prejudices  prevail;  I  have  de- 
voted the  greater  part  of  this  Appeal  to  the  examination 
of  them  on  their  own  merits:  and  I  trust  it  has  suffi- 
ciently appeared,  that,  when  the  whole  of  the  statements 
of  Swedenborg  respecting  them  is  understood,  all  must 
be  admitted  to  be  securely  established  on  the  immovable 
basis  of  Scripture,  Reason,  and  Fact.  Mr  B.,  however, 
has  not  left  our  more  important  doctrinal  sentiments 
unassailed;  on  the  contrary,  he  has  put  out  all  his 
strength  in  an  attempt  to  overthrow  the  most  important 
of  them  all, — that  which  presents  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
as  the  Being  in  whose  single  Person  the  whole  of  the 
Divine  Trinity  centers, — as  being,  himself,  the  Person 
of  the  Father,  and  thus  the  proper  Object  of  Christian 
worship.  IMr  B.  is  hostile  to  this  doctrine,  evidently, 
because  it  overturns  his  erroneous  views  of  the  Atone- 
ment and  IMediation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  the  true 
nature  of  v.^hich,  as  exhibited  in  the  doctrines  of  the  New 
Church,  he  likewise  assails  v/ith  gross  misrepresenta- 
tions. He  also  occasionally  throws  some  unjustifiable 
slurs  on  our  sentiments  in  regard  to  the  Christian  Life. 
These  three  subjects  then,  I  propose,  as  briefly  as  their 
importance  will  admit,  to  discuss  in  this  and  the  two 
following  Sections:  and  so  to  conclude  this  Appeal. 
That  the  doctrine  of  the  Xew   Jerusalem   respecting 


THE    TRINITY.  203 

the  Divine  Being  and  the  Trinity  in  the  Divine  Nature 
should  be  fixed  upon  by  any  as  an  object  of  attack; 
that,  on  the  contrary,  it  should  not  be  eagerly  accepted 
by  all  who  assume  the  Christian  name,  as  relieving  them 
from  difficulties  which  all  ingenuous  minds  are  well 
aware  are  not  a  little  embarrassing;  are  facts  which,  to 
us  who  have  embraced  it,  would  appear  astonishing, 
were  we  not  conscious  of  the  power  which  received 
opinions  and  early  prejudices  always  exercise  over  the 
judgment  of  weak  and  fallible  man.  All  acknowledge, 
at  least  in  words,  that  God  is  and  can  be  but  one:  yet 
when  it  is  affirmed,  as  is  done  by  the  majority,  that  this 
One  God  exists  in  Three  Persons,  each  of  whom,  ^'  by 
himself'  (as  the  Athanasian  Creed  expresses  it,)  is  God 
and  Lord;  a  perplexity  and  confusion  are  introduced 
into  our  conceptions,  which  many  find  to  be  distressing 
in  the  extreme.  To  escape  from  the  embarrassment, 
numbers  have  rejected  the  idea  of  a  Trinity  in  the  Di- 
vine Nature  altogether;  and  not  seeing  how  to  connect 
this  rejection  with  an  acknowledgment  of  the  divinity 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  have  refused  the  honors  of 
divine  worship  to  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  In  the 
midst  of  these  contending  opinions  it  is,  that  the  New 
Church,  which  they  who  have  embraced  it  believe  to  be 
prefigured  by  the  New  Jerusalem  of  the  Revelation,  ad- 
dresses itself  to  the  Candid  and  the  Reflecting.  We 
see  in  Scripture  too  decisive  evidence  of  the  Divinity 
of  Jesus  Christ,  to  suffer  us,  with  the  Unitarian,  to  call 
it  in  question:  on  the  other  hand,  we  find  too  strong  de- 
clarations of  the  indivisible  unity  in  the  Divine  Nature, 
to  allow  us,  with  the  Trinitarian,  to  portion  it  out  between 
three  separate  persons.  /We  take  all  that  is  true  in  the 
system  of  each,  separated  from  all  that  is  false.  The 
doctrine  of  the  Tripersonality  was  first  invented,  because 
those  who  framed  it  saw  no  other  means  of  preserving 
some  acknowledgment  of  the  divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ:  and  we  agree  with  them,  that  this  acknowledg- 
ment is  indispensable,  in  order  that  any  true  church  may 
exist.  The  doctrine  of  Unitarianism  has  been  intro- 
duced, because  they  who  framed  it  saw  no  other  way  to 
preserve  inviolate  the  perfect  unity  of  the  Godhead: 
and  we  agree  again  with  them,  that  where  this  is  in  any 
degree  departed  from,  no  true  church  can  exist.     Both 


; 


204  THE    TRINITY. 

these  mischiefs  are  completely  avoided  in  the  doctrines 
of  the  New  Church,  as  drawn  from  the  Scriptures  in 
the  writings  of  Swedenborg.  May  I  not  then  appeal 
to  the  Candid  and  Reflecting,  of  all  Denominations, 
and  ask,  whether  such  a  system  of  doctrine  ought  not  to 
be  looked  at  by  all  with  respect;  whether  it  might  not 
be  reasonably  conluded,  that  it  would  excite  violent 
hostility  in  none,  but  would  be  accepted  by  multitudes 
of  sincere  Christians  with  thankfulness  and  eagerness? 
That  it  is  entitled  to  such  acceptance,  because  it  not 
only  proposes  what  is  obviously  desirable,  but  estab- 
lishes what  is  certainly  true;  we  will  endeavor  in  some 
degree  to  evince. 

I  shall  take  it  for  granted  that  all  parties  will  admit, 
that  the  unity  of  God  is  a  doctrine  most  perpetually  in- 
sisted upon  by  Scripture,  and  constantly  held  forth  as 
the  fundamental  idea  on  which  all  true  religion  is  erect- 
ed. I  shall  also  take  it  for  granted,  that,  though  the 
word  "  Trinity"  does  not  occur  in  Scripture,  we  repeat- 
edly find  the  idea  properly  intended  by  that  term;  since 
we'everywhere  read,  in  the  New  Testament,  of  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  as  equally  concerned  in 
the^great  work  of  man's  salvation.  I  shall  further  as- 
sume, that  there  are  a  great  many  passages  likewise 
which  ascribe  Divinity  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  for 
even  the  deniers  of  his  divinity  admit  this,  though,  not 
knowing  how  to  reconcile  this  doctrine  with  that  of  the 
unity,  they  endeavor  to  explain  away  their  force.  On 
the  admission,  then,  that  these  three  doctrines  are  ex- 
plicitly affirmed  in  Scripture — so  affirmed  that  they  na- 
turally result  from  the  sense  of  the  words  themselves; 
how  are  they  to  be  combined  into  one  coherent  senti- 
ment? The  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Unity 
implies,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Trinity  must 
not  be  so  strained  as  to  be  set  at  variance  therewith,  as 
is  done  when  the  Trinity  is  understood  to  be  a  trinity  of 
separate  persons  in  the  usual  acceptation  of  that  term.  It 
must  then  be  a  trinity  of  Essential  Principles, — of  Con- 
stituent Elements  (so  to  speak,  for  want  of  better  terms), 
forming  together  One  Person.  And  if  the  Divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  also  certain, — thus  if  he  is  God  at  all, 
and  yet  God  is  but  One,  who  can  he  be  but  that  One 
Person?     In  him,  as  he  decidedly  declares,  the  Father 


THE    TRINITY.  205 

dweileth:  "the  Father,  that  dwelleth  inme^  he  doeth  the 
works:"* — he  must  then  be  the  person  of  the  Father. 
From  him,  or  out  of  him  from  the  Father  within  him,  as 
he  also  declares,  the  Holy  Ghost  proceedeth:  ''the 
Comforter, — whom  /  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Fa- 
ther:"! to  represent,  also,  his  sending  of  which,  "he 
breathed  on  them,  and  said  unto  them.  Receive  ye  the 
Holy  Ghost.  "J  Does  it  not  then  appear,  that,  properly, 
the  Father  is  the  Divine  Essence;  the  Son,  the  Man- 
ifestation of  that  Essence  in  a  Personal  Form;  and 
the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Sanctifying  Energy  and  Influence 
— the  Divine  Life — thence  proceeding  to  operate  the 
graces  of  salvation  in  the  human  mind.''  This  is  a  ge- 
neral view  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  New  Church  upon  this 
subject:  I  do  not  propose  here  to  go  at  large  into  the 
direct  proof  of  it:  but  I  will  shape  my  remarks  so  as  to 
meet  all  the  objections  which,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  can 
be  raised  against  it.  Thus,  though  by  a  different  method, 
I  trust  we  shall  arrive  at  complete  proof  of  the  doctrine 
proposed. § 

The  objections  to  the  doctrine  that  the  whole  Divine 
Trinity  is  centered  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whose  Per- 
son is  thus  the  person  of  the  Father,  are  chiefly  drawn 
from  these  two  sources:  First,  from  the  beliel^,  that  the 
Being  who  became  incarnate  was  a  Son  of  God  born 
from  eternity:  here,  therefore,  I  shall  endeavor  to  shew, 
that  the  phrase,  Sou  of  God,  is  the  proper  title  of  the 
Humanity  born  in  time,  and  that  the  Being  who  assumed 
that  Humanity  was  the  One  Jehovah:  Secondly,  objec- 
tions are  raised  from  the  fact,  that  Jesus  Christ,  while 
in  the  world,  sometimes  spoke  as  if  the  Father  were  a 
separate  Being  from  Himself:  here,  therefore,  I  shall 
endeavor  to  shew,  that,  while  in  the  world,  he  was  en- 
gaged in  the  work  of  glorifying  his  Humanity,  or  making 
it  divine,  as  part  of  his  great  work  of  redemption:  thus 

*  John  xiv.  10.  f  Ch.  xv.  26,  ch.  xvi.  7.  |  Ch.  xx.  22. 

§  I  have  collected  some  of  the  direct  evidence  for  this  important 
doctrine  in  a  tract  entitled,  The  True  Object  of  Christian  JVorskip 
demonstrated,  and  the  Doctrine  of  the  Divine  Trinity  elucidated, 
&c.  printed  for  the  Missionary  and  Tract  Society  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem Church,  and  pubUshed  by  the  printer  of  this  work.  I  could 
wish  that  this  Tract  might  be  read  in  connexion  with  the  present 
Section. 

18 


206  THE    TRINITY. 

that  SO  long  as  he  was  in  the  world  there  was  a  part  of 
his  nature  which  was  not  divine;  but  that  the  work  of 
glorifying  the  whole  was  completed  at  his  resurrection 
and  ascension;  that  all  belonging  to  him  was  then  divine; 
and  that  thus  he  now  ever  liveth  and  reigneth,  with  the 
Father  an  Indivisible  One,  the  Only  God  of  heaven  and 
earth. 

I.  I  am  then,  firsf,  to  meet  the  objections  arising  out 
of  the  belief,  that  the  Being  who  became  incarnate  was 
a  Son  of  God  born  from  eternity,  by  shewing,  that  the 
phrase.  Son  of  God,  is  the  proper  title  of  the  Humanity 
born  in  time,  and  that  the  Being  who  assumed  it  was 
the  One  Jehovah. 

The  idea  of  a  Son  of  God  born  from  eternity  includes 
such  a  contradiction  in  terms,  that,  if  those  who  enter- 
tain it  will  pardon  the  remark,  we  may  well  wonder  how 
it  could  ever  have  found  a  propounder;  especially  when, 
on  searching  the  scriptures,  we  discover,  that  nothing 
whatever  countenancing  such  a  notion  is  there  to  be 
found.  Had  there  been  such  a  being  as  a  Son  of  God 
existing  from  eternity,  governing  the  universe  in  con- 
junction with  his  Father,  and  the  Head  and  particular 
Ruler  of  the  church,  is  it  to  be  supposed,  that  the  church 
could  have  been  left,  for  four  thousand  years,  in  total 
ignorance  of  his  existence  ?  Yet  such  is  incontroverti- 
bly  the  fact.  The  Old  Testament,  which  contains  the 
records  of  all  the  churches  that  ever  appeared  on  this 
globe,  from  the  creation  till  the  coming  of  the  Lord, 
never  once  speaks  of  a  Son  of  God  as  then  actually 
existing:  it  speaks  indeed,  prophetically,  of  a  Son  of 
God  who,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  was  to  be  born,  but  never 
makes  the  slightest  allusion  to  a  Son  of  God  then  born 
already. 

Seeing  then  that  Moses  and  the  prophets  give  us  no 
information  about  a  proper  Son  of  God  as  existing  when 
that  part  of  the  Divine  Code  was  composed,  we  must 
come  to  the  New  Testament  for  instruction;  where  the 
term  is  often  used,  and  always  in  reference  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  And  of  all  the  places  in  which  it  here 
occurs,  perhaps  that  in  Luke  i.  35,  is  best  adapted  to 
convey  a  full  insight  into  its  meaning.  It  is  there  applied 
by  the  angel  Gabriel  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  at  his 
birth,  or  rather,  prior   to  his  birth;  in  a  manner  which 


THE    TRIXITY.  207 

plainly  intimates  that  there  was  no  Son  of  God  before. 
In  the  other  gospels,  this  epithet  is  given  to  Jesus  Christ, 
oris  assumed  by  him:  but  in  this  passage  of  Luke  we 
learn  the  origin  of  the  title,  and  the  reason  of  it.  Had 
there  been  a  Son  of  God  already  existing,  and  it  was 
this  which  became  incarnate  and  was  born  of  the  virgin, 
we  undoubtedly  should  have  had  some  intimation  of  it 
when  the  angel  announced  to  her  the  approaching  event. 
He  surely  would  have  made  some  mention  of  the  Being 
who  was  about  to  assume  Humanity  by  her  means.  He 
would  not  merely  have  told  her,  that  that  Holy  Thing 
which  sJiGuld  be  born  of  her  should  be  called  the  Son  of 
God;  but,  that  the  Son  of  God  who  had  existed  from  eler- 
nity,  luas  ahoid,  by  her  instrumentality,  to  come  into  the 
world.  No  such  thing.  He  says:  "  The  Holy  Ghost 
shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  Power  of  the  Highest 
shall  overshadow  thee:  therefore  also  that  Holy  Thing 
which  shall  be  born  of  thee  shall  be  called  the  SonofGod.'^^ 
Here  is  express  mention  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  the 
Highest,  or  Father,  as  operating  in  the  divine  concep- 
tion; but  nothing  is  said  of  a  Son  from  eternity  as  being 
in  any  way  concerned:  and  the  omission  most  plainly 
implies,  what  all  the  perceptions  of  common  sense  must 
be  outraged  before  we  can  doubt,  that  the  Son  does  not 
assist  to  produce  himself,  nor  exist  before  he  is  born. 
The  Holi/  Thing  that  icas  to  be  born,  it  is  said,  should 
be  called  the  Son  of  God;  and  so  called,  not  because  it 
had  already  been  born  from  eternity,  but  because  (v/hat 
else  does  the  illative  particle,  ^'^  therefore,^''  intend.^ — be- 
cause) it  was ')iow  first  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
the  Father. 

Here,  also,  is  another  circumstance  which  it  is  im- 
possible for  the  tripersonalist  to  reconcile  with  his  creed: 
that  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  well  as  the  Highest  or  Father, 
is  represented  as  standing  in  the  relation  of  a  parent  to 
the  Son  of  God.  It  is  commonly  believed,  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  a  distinct  personal  being,  separate  from 
both  the  Father  and  the  Son:  if  so,  then,  according  to 
the  angel  Gabriel,  the  Son  had  two  distinct  fathers. 
The  Athanasian  Creed  says,  that  ''the  Son  is  of  the 
Father  alone,  neither  made,  nor  created,  but  begotten:" 
but  the  angel  Gabriel  positively  declares,  that  the  Son  is 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the   Highest,  begotten  alike  of 


208  THE     TRINITY. 

both.  How  evident  then  it  is,  that,  before  we  can  have 
clear  and  consistent  notions  of  the  Divine  Incarnation, 
we  must  not  only  dismiss  from  our  minds  the  wild  belief 
of  a  Son  of  God  born  from  eternity,  but  also,  that  equal- 
ly extravagant  and  unscriptural  notion,  the  separate  per- 
sonality of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  whole  subject,  however,  loses  its  imputed  cha- 
racter of  incomprehensibility,  and  becomes,  agreeably 
to  the  divine  promise,  plain;  and  the  words  of  the 
angel  Gabriel  in  particular,  become  easy  to  under- 
stand; when  we  know  that  the  trinity  in  the  Divine 
Nature  does  not  consist  of  three  Persons,  but  of 
three  Principles  or  Elements  in  one  Person.  "  The 
Highest,^''  which  is  the  term  used  by  the  angel  in- 
stead of  "  the  Father, ''  most  clearly  denotes  the  In- 
most Principle  of  Deity,  or  the  Essence  of  the  Divine 
Nature.  Unquestionably,  God  is  called  the  Highest  or 
most  High,  not  in  reference  to  any  station  which  he  oc- 
cupies in  space;  for  God  is  independent  of  space  and  no 
more  stationed  in  one  place  than  in  another.  He  who 
is  Omnipresent,  cannot  literally  be  either  high  or  low. 
The  reason  then  of  his  title  of  Most  High,  is,  because 
he  is  the  Inmost,  being  everywhere  present  as  the  in- 
most source  of  the  life  and  existence  of  all  things. 
And,  with  respect  to  the  three  Essentials  of  his  own 
Nature,  it  must  be  his  Inmost  Divinity  which  is  called 
the  Highest.  So  when,  elsewhere,  this  Inmost  Prin- 
ciple is  called  the  Father,  it  is,  because  the  essence  of 
Deity  is  Love,  and  Love  is  the  Great  Parent  of  all. 
The  Holy  Ghost  or  Holy  Spirit,  in  like  manner,  is  not  a 
separate  Person,  but  is  the  Divine  Emanation  of  influen- 
ces and  energies  proceeding  from  the  Divine  Being,  by 
which  all  things  are  kept  in  existence,  and  especially  by 
which  the  graces  of  heavenly  life  are  imparted  to  human 
minds.  Much  the  same  is  meant  by  ihe  Poiver  of  the 
Highest  as  by  the  Holy  Spirit:  for  as  the  Highest  de- 
notes the  Divine  Essence,  so  the  Power  of  the  Highest 
denotes  the  influence  and  operation  thence  proceeding; 
only  there  is  this  difference  in  the  import  of  the  two 
phrases;  that  the  Holy  Spirit  means  the  Divine  Eman- 
ation of  life  and  influence  more  with  respect  to  the  Di- 
vine Truth  and  Wisdom,  and  the  Power  of  the  Highest 
is  the  same  Divine  Emanation  more  with    reference  to 


THE    TRINITY.  209 

the  Divine  Goodness  and  Love.  What  then  can  be 
"that  Holy  Thing,"  "the  Son  of  God,"  conceived  by 
the  energy  of  these  two  Principles  within  the  sphere  of 
Humanity,  but  themselves,  and  consequently  the  High- 
est with  them,  brought  into  open  manifestation,  concen- 
trated in  a  Divine  Human  Form,  and  thus  adapted  to 
be  an  Object  both  of  the  love  and  perceptions  of  finite 
and  infirm  human  minds? 

The  consequence  of  this  assumption  of  Humanity  by 
Jehovah,  was,  the  redemption  of  mankind,  by  the  subju- 
gation of  the  powers  of  hell,  which  could  not  otherwise 
have  been  approached  and  conquered;  and  the  commu- 
nication of  saving  energies  for  the  restoration  of  fallen 
man,  with  an  efficacy  which  could  no  otherwise  be  ob- 
tained. But  respecting  this  part  of  the  subject  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  say  more  in  the  next  Section. 

We  may  now  have  advanced  as  much  as  was  necessa- 
ry to  elucidate  this  branch  of  our  argument.  We  were 
to  meet  the  objections  arising  out  of  the  belief,  that  the 
Being  who  became  incarnate  was  a  Son  of  God  born 
from  etennty,  by  shewing,  that  the  phrase.  Son  of  God, 
is  the  proper  title  of  the  Humanity  born  in  time,  and  that 
the  Being  who  assumed  it  was  the  One  Jehovah.  This 
has,  I  trust,  sufficiently  appeared:  and  with  it,  we  have 
in  some  degree  seen,  how  much  light  the  view  proposed 
throws  upon  the  great  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.* 

II.  I  am  next  to  meet  the  objections  which  are  raised 
from  the  fact,  that  the    Lord  Jesus  Christ,   while  in  the 

*  It  may  be  necessary  to  observe,  that  we  are  not  to  conclude  from 
the  fact,  that  there  was  no  Son  of  God  born  from  eternity,  that  there- 
fore there  was  no  Trinity  from  eternity.  Though  there  was  not 
such  a  Trinity  as  since  the  incarnation,  there  must  always  have  been 
a  Divine  Essence,  a  Divine  Form,  and  a  Divine  Influencing  Power. 
As  the  Divine  Essence  is  identical  with  the  purely  Divine  Love,  the 
Divine  Form  is  identical  with  the  purely  Divine  Truth,  which  is  the 
Word,  of  which  it  is  said  in  the  beginning  of  John  that  it  was  made 
flesh,  or  assumed  the  ultimate  form  of  existence.  The  state  of  the 
Divine  Trinity  before  the  assumption  of  Humanity,  or  before  the 
birth  of  the  Son  of  God,  is  compared,  by  Swedenborg,  to  the  state  of 
an  angel  or  spirit ;  who  has  a  soul  or  inmost  principle  of  life,  a  spirit- 
ual body,  and  a  sphere  of  operation  thence  :  but  the  state  of  the  Di- 
vine Trinity  since  the  assumption  of  Humanity,  is  compared  to  the 
sta'e  of  a  man  in  the  world,  in  whom  his  soul  and  spiritual  body  are 
clothed  with  a  natural  body  also,  and  thus  have  a  sphere  of  activity 
in  the  world  of  nature. 

18*^ 


210  THE     TRINITY. 

world,  sometimes  spoke  as  if  the  Father  were  a  Being 
separate  from  himself.  To  this  end  I  am  to  shew,  that, 
while  in  the  world,  he  was  engaged  in  the  work  of  glo- 
rifying his  Humanity,  or  making  it  Divine,  which  was 
part  of  his  great  work  of  redemption;  thus,  that  so  long 
as  he  was  in  the  world  there  was  a  part  of  his  nature 
which  was  not  divine;  but  that  the  work  of  glorifying 
the  whole  was  completed  at  his  resurrection  and  ascen- 
sion; that  all  belonging  to  him  was  then  divine;  and  that 
now  he  ever  liveth  and  reigneth,  with  the  Father  an 
Indivisible  One,  the  Only  God  of  heaven  and  earth. 

It  is  necessary  to  be  observed,  that  there  was  this 
difTerence  between  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  while  in  a 
body  of  flesh  on  earth,  and  all  ordinary  men:  that  where- 
as they  take  their  soul  or  spiritual  part  from  a  human 
father,*  as  well  as  their  body  or  material  from  a  hu- 
man mother,  and  thus  are  finite  human  beings  as  to  both, 
Jesus  Christ,  having  no  father  but  the  Divine  Father, 
had  his  soul  or  internal  part  from  the  Divine  Essence; 
and  as  the  Divine  Essence  is  obviously  incapable  of  di- 
vision, the  Divine  Essence  Itself,  or  the  Father,  was  in 
fact  his  soul  or  internal  part;  while  his  body  or  external 
part  including  the  affections,  &c.  of  the  natural  man, 
was  all  that  he  took  from  the  mother.  So  long  as  he 
had  attached  to  him  this  body  from  the  mother,  he  was 
necessarily  an  inhabitant  of  this  material  world;  nor 
could  he  return,  as  he  expresses  it  in  John>  to  the  F'ath- 

^  It  is  supposed  by  many,  that  nothing  is  derived  by  man  from  his 
parents  except  his  bodily  frame,  and  that  when  this  has  arrived  to  a 
certain  s<age  of  its  growth  in  the  womb,  a  soul,  immediately  created 
for  that  purpose,  is  infused  into  it  from  God.  This  notion  involves 
such  contradictions,  that  it  is  wonderful  how  any  can  admit  it. 
How  can  the  human  race  at  the  present  day  be  infected  with  the  sin 
of  Adam,  as  is  generally  supposed;  and  how  can  there  be  a  trans- 
mission of  mental  dispositions  and  character  from  ancestors,  as  ex- 
perience demonstrates  to  be  the  fact ,  if,  as  to  the  only  part  of  us 
which  is  capable  either  of  sin,  or  righteousness,  or  mental  character, 
we  are  not  Adam's  descendants,  and  have  no  proper  ancestors,  but 
are  as  much  original  creations  as  was  Adam  himself?  How  much 
more  rational  is  Swedenborg's  doctrine  ;  that  the  soul  is  not  an  inde- 
pendent principle  that  lives  of  Itself,  but  is  a  spiritual  form  organized 
for  the  reception,  from  moment  to  moment,  of  life  from  God  ;  which 
life  is  received  and  modified  by  it  according  to  the  peculiar  character 
of  the  form ;  the  form  itself  being  propagated  from  the  parents,  and 
thus  resembling  what  it  was  in  them,  as  is  the  case  with  the  body  ! 
Several  philosophers  have  seen  that  such  must  be  the  fact. 


THE     TRINITY.  211 

er,  and  "  be  glorified  with  the  glory  which  he  had  with 
him," — as  the  Divine  Trutli  or  Word  in  union  with  the 
Divine  Good  or  Love, — "before  the  world  was,"* un- 
til his  external  part,  even  to  the  very  body,  by  the  as- 
sumption of  which  "  the  Word  was  made  flesh,"!  was 
glorified  or  made  diviner  nor,  till  then,  was  the  whole 
the  appropriate  Divine  Form  of  the  Divine  Essence 
that  was  resident  within,  and  which  was  continually  en- 
deavoring to  bring  it  into  a  state  of  perfect  agreement 
with  itself,  that  it  might  impart  itself  to  it,  and  thus 
dwell  in  fulness  in  it,  as  the  soul  in  its  body.  Thus  our 
Lord's  state  by  birth  bore  an  exact  analogy  to  man's 
state  by  birth.  Man  has,  we  know,  an  internal  man 
and  an  external  man,  which  are  by  birth  in  opposition  to 
each  other,  the  internal  man  inclining  to  heavenly  things, 
and  the  external  only  to  earthly  things;  wherefore  man, 
before  he  can  be  elevated  to  heaven,  must  be  regenera- 
ted, that  is,  his  external  man  must  be  formed  anew,  so 
as  to  become  the  image  of  the  internal,  and  to  incline, 
like  it,  to  heavenly  things,  and  only  to  earthly  in  subor- 
dination to  heavenly.  But  that  which,  in  our  Lord,  may 
be  called  his  internal  man,  was  Jehovah,  or  the  Essen- 
tial Divinity  itself;  but  his  external  man,  being  taken 
from  a  human  parent,  was  merely  human  and  finite,  and 
partook  of  human,  finite,  and  earthly  things;  wherefore, 
before  the  Lord  could  return  to  complete  oneness  with 
the  Father,  his  external  man  was  to  be  formed  anew,  so 
as  to  become  the  exact  image  of  his  internal,  thus,  like 
it,  divine  and  infinite.  Now  this  renewal  of  his  exter- 
nal part  was  going  on  during  the  whole  course  of  his  life 
in  the  world. 

That  the  Lord  was  not  born  divine  as  to  his  external 
part,  but  only  as  to  his  internal  part,  is  generally  known: 
but  that  he  was  continually  engaged  in  rendering  his  ex- 
ternal part  divine  also,  which  at  last  was  completely 
effected,  is'  as  generally  overlooked.  That,  as  to  his 
external  man,  he  advanced  in  intelligence  as  well  as  in 
bodily  growth,  is  evident  from  the  declaration  of  Luke, 
that  "  the  child  Jesus  grew  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and 
in  favor  with  God  and  man;"  where  by  his  growing  in 
favor  with  God  and  man,  is  meant  his  approximation  to 

*  John  xvii.  5.  t  Ch.  i.  14. 


212  THE    TRINITY. 

union  with  his  divinity,  and  his  reception  of  divine  prin- 
ciples from  his  Divine  Essence  in  his  Humanity.  The 
same  truth  is  further  evident  from  the  circumstance, 
that  he  is  stated  to  have  been  about  thirty  years  old  be- 
fore he  entered  on  his  public  ministry.  This  is  a  fact 
'.vhich  cannot  possibly  be  accounted  for  on  any  principles 
but  ours.  Can  it  be  supposed  that  these  thirty  years, 
of  the  history  of  which  only  two  or  three  particulars  are 
recorded,  were  spent  by  him  in  doing  nothing?  Would 
a  Divine  Being  have  remained  so  long  in  a  body  taken 
from  the  elements  of  this  world,  were  there  not  a  grad- 
ual process  going  on  essential  to  the  accomplishment  of 
the  work  for  which  he  came  into  this  world,  and  previous 
to  the  arrival  at  a  certain  stage  of  which  he  was  not  in 
a  capacity  of  working  those  miracles,  and  of  speaking 
those  words  of  eternal  Truth,  by  which  his  public  career 
was  distinguished?  When  he  had  so  far  advanced  to 
oneness  with  the  Father  that  his  external  man,  by  which 
he  spoke  and  acted  in  the  world,  was  open  even  to  him, 
that  is,  was  in  immediate  communication  with  his  Divine 
Essence,  (of  which  the  descent  of  the  dove  at  his  bap- 
tism, as  a  symbol  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  Divine  Life 
flowing  into  him  immediately  from  his  Divine  Essence, 
was  the  token,)  he  went  about  the  world  performing  the 
wonderful  works  which  are  recorded  of  him;  and  when 
his  external  man  was  perfectly  united  with  the  Father, 
thus  was  rendered  divine  by  the  full  reception  cf  the  di- 
vine Essence  in  all  its  faculties,  he  appeared  on  earth 
no  longer,  but  ascended  up  into  heaven  "  and  sat  on  the 
right  hand  of  God."*  By  this  phrase  is  not  meant  that 
he  literally  sat  down  by  the  side  of  another  Divine  Per- 
son; but,  as  the  hand  is  the  part  of  the  body  by  which 
all  its  powers  are  exerted,  it  is  always  used  in  the  Word 
to  sio-ni/y  power;  as  is  also  the  practice  in  many  eastern 
nations  at  the  present  day:  hence  by  the  right  hand  of 
God  is  signified  Divine  Omnipotence,  to  the  possession 
of  whicli  the  Lord,  as  to  his  Human  Nature,  was  now 
exalted:  as  he  says  himself,  in  reference  to  the  same  sub- 
ject in  Matthew,  "  All  power" — all  authority  or  domin- 
ion— "  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth."*  '^  -All 
power"  is  Omnipotence,  and  by  "wie,"  he  means  the 
Human  Nature,  now  One  with  the  Divine. 

*  See  also  above. 


THE    TRINITY,  213 

We  are  now  in  possession  of  all  that  is  requisite  to  the 
solution  of  all  the  objections  to  the  doctrine  of  the  sole 
Divinity  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  are  drawn  from 
the  fact,  that,  while  in  the  world,  he  sometimes  spoko  as 
if  the  Father  were  a  Being  separate  from  himself  So 
long  as  he  was  in  the  v/orld,  we  have  seen  there  was  a 
part  of  his  nature  which  was  not  divine;  and  so  far  as 
the  sphere  of  his  thoughts  descended  into  it,  he  would 
have  a  sense  of  separate  existence.  Thus  there  are 
various  occasions  in  which  Jesus  is  recorded  to  have 
prayed  to  the  Father,  and  at  some  times  with  the  greatest 
distress  and  anxiety;  the  reason  of  which  was,  because 
he  was  then  in  his  state  of  humiliation,  or  the  sphere 
of  his  consciousness  was  chiefly  in  the  infirm  Humanity 
taken  from  the  mother;  and,  being  engaged  in  combats 
with  the  infernal  hosts,  these  at  such  times  prevailed  so 
far,  as  to  shut  out  the  perception  of  communication  with 
his  Divine  Essence,  and  to  occasion  doubt  to  his  un- 
glorified  human  nature  whether  its  union  therewith  could 
ever  be  effected,  and,  of  consequence,  whether  the  sal- 
vation of  the  human  race,  which  depended  upon  that 
union,  could  be  accomplished,  Man,  in  his  Christian 
progess,  undergoes  states  in  some  degree  similar:  for  he 
cannot  always  be  kept  in  a  state  of  elevation,  in  the 
perception  of  those  heavenly  principles  which  he  has  re- 
ceived by  the  internal  man  from  the  Lord;  but  he  some- 
times sinks  into  the  external  man  merely,  and  finds  him- 
self there  so  beset  with  impressions  opposite  to  heavenly 
ones,  as  to  be  brought  to  doubt  whether  he  has  ever 
really  received  anything  of  a  heavenly  nature  or  not. 
Such,  also,  was  the  case  with  our  Lord;  except  that  his 
internal  part  was  not  only,  as  with  others,  formed  by 
principles  of  goodness  and  truth  received  from  the  Di- 
vine Being,  but  Divine  Goodness  and  Truth  themselves; 
and  that  in  his  external  part  he  had  to  combat  with  the 
whole  infernal  host,  under  forms  of  horror  and  overwhel- 
ming terror  that  would  infallibly  have  destroyed  any 
merely  finite  being — any  man  whose  soul  was  any  other 
than  Divinity  itself  TS  o  wonder  then  if,  when  in  such 
states,  he  sometimes  appeared  at  a  distance  from  his 
Father,  and  prayed  to  him  in  a  manner  that  might  lead 
us  to  regard  him  as  a  Being  different  from  himself!  At 
other  times  he  gives  thanks  to  the  Father;  which,  though 


214  THE    TRINITY. 

not  implying  so  great  an  idcH  of  distance  as  in  the  form- 
er cases,  still  conveys  to  the  uninformed  mind  an  idea  of 
separation.  To  give  ihanks  to  the  Lord,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Scripture,  implies  an  acknowledgment,  that 
all  that  we  receive,  which  is  the  suhject  of  our  thanks, 
is  from  him.  And  when  Jesus  gives  thanks  to  the  Father 
the  meaning  is  the  same;  he  acknowledges  by  the  action, 
that  it  is  from  his  Divine  Essence  that  Divine  Love, 
Wisdom  and  Life,  are  imparted  to  his  Humanity.  Our 
Lord,  accordingly,  constantly  declares  that  he  does 
nothing  of  himself,  but  that  "  the  Father  that  dwelleth 
in  him,  he  doeth  the  works;"  by  which  he  instructs  us, 
that  his  Humanity  alone,  were  it  separate  from  his  Di- 
vinity, would  be  powerless,  but  that  by  union  with  the 
Divinity  it  has  Omnipotence.  This  may  be  clearly 
illustrated  by  the  case  of  the  soul  and  body  of  man:  the 
body  separate  from  the  soul  would  be  a  mass  of  dead 
matter;  but  in  union  with  the  soul  it  has  all  the  power  of 
the  soul  in  it:  nay,  further:  the  soul,  without  the  body 
would  have  no  power  whatever  in  this  world  of  nature 
to  which  the  body  belongs;  and  just  so,  when  man  had 
sunk  into  a  merely  natural  state,  the  divine  influences 
were  rendered  incapable  of  affecting  him  in  a  saving 
manner,  till  they  had  invested  themselves  with  the  re- 
quisite instrument,  by  clothing  themselves  with  a  Hu- 
manity capable  of  making  them  felt  in  that  sphere  of  life 
in  which  man  then  stood.  It  would,  however,  be  absurd, 
because  the  body  has  nothing  but  what  it  receives  from 
the  soul,  to  regard  the  body  as  a  distinct  person  from  the 
soul;  nor  is  it  less  so,  because  all  the  powerof  the  Lord's 
Humanity  is  a  consequence  of  the  Divinity's  dwelling 
within  it  to  consider  it  as  a  distinct  person  from  the  Father. 
Accordingly,  it  was  only  while  the  work  of  glorification 
was  in  progress  that  Jesus  either  prayed  to  the  Father 
or  gave  him  thanks.  After  it  was  accomplished  he  never 
did  either  the  one  or  the  other;  but  although,  lor  the 
sake  of  conveying  the  notion  of  Divinity  and  Humanity 
in  the  Lord,  distinct  mention  continues  to  be  made  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Father,  both  in  the  gospels  after  the  res- 
urrection and  in  the  Apocalypse  throughout,  there  is  no 
hint  ichatcver  of  any  address  from  the  one  to  the  other. 
Only  let  this  fact  be  fairly  looked  at,  and  it  must  be  seen 
to  be  decisive.     From  the   period   of  the    resurrection, 


THE    TRINITY.  215 

there  is  no  hint  whatever  of  any  address  of  any  kind 
from  the  Son  to  the  Father  or  from  the  Father  to  the 
Son;  all  trace  of  inferiority  on  the  part  of  the  Son  disap- 
pears: the  angelic  hosts,  with  equal  reverence,  sing, 
"  Blessing  and  honor,  glory  and  power,  be  unto  him  that 
sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  forever  and 
ever."  The  reason  is,  because,  the  union  between  them 
being  fully  accomplished,  all  the  Divine  Essence  belongs 
equally  to  the  Humanity,  and  the  Humanity  is  the  per- 
fect form  and  adequate  instrument  of  action  of  the  Di- 
vine Essence.  While  this  work  was  in  progress  only, 
our  Lord  prayed  and  gave  thanks  to  the  Father —  ascri- 
bed all  to  him;  but  after  its  accomplishment  he  does  so 
no  longer,  because  there  is  no  longer  anything  in  him 
which  is  not  absolutely  one  with  the  Father:  on  the 
contrary,  he  now  assumes  to  himself  the  most  absolute 
and  incommunicable  of  the  Father's  attributes;  as  when 
He  says,  ''  I  am  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  Beginning  and 
the  Ending,  the  First  and  the  Last,  who  is,  who  was, 
and  who  is  to  come,  the  Almighty." 

Thus,  when  it  is  known  that  there  was  no  Son  of  God 
born  from  eternity  but  this  is  the  proper  title  of  the  Hu- 
manity born  in  time;  and  when  it  is  known  that  this  Hu- 
manity, though  not  divine  when  born,  was  rendered  such 
by  a  process  which  it  was  undergoing  during  the  whole 
period  of  our  Lord's  existence  on  earth;  it  is  obvious  that 
all  the  objections  to  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Church 
respecting  the  Divine  Trinity,  as  concentrated  in  the 
Glorified  or  Divine  Person  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
fall  completely  to  the  ground;  and  we  see  how  it  is  true, 
that,  notwithstanding  his  having  appeared  in  the  form  of 
an  ordinary  man  in  the  world, — in  a  form  which  was  liable 
to  infirmities,  to  sufferings,  and  to  death, — he  now  ever 
liveth  and  reigneth,  with  the  Father  an  Indivisible  One, 
the  only  God  of  heaven  and  earth. 

We  will  confirm  ;his  truth  by  one  or  two  general  ob- 
servations. 

It  is  certain,  that  the  one  God  has,  from  the  beginning 
of  creation,  manifested  himself  to  his  people  under  va- 
rious characters,  expressed  by  various  names,  suited  to 
their  various  states  of  necessity.  Thus  we  find  God 
saying  to  Moses,  "  I  am  Jehovah;  and  I  appeared  to 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  by  the  name  of  God  Al- 


216  THE    TRINITY. 

mighty;  but  by  my  name  Jehovah  was  I  not  known  to 
them."*  Whether  this  name  was  altogether  before  un- 
known, is  disputed  among  commentators:  but  it  evidently 
was  either  first  assumed,  or  was  assumed  anew,  at  the 
founding  of  the  Israelitish  Church  by  the  calling  of 
Moses:  was  it  not  then  to  be  expected,  that,  when  God 
founded  the  Christian  Church,  the  character  of  which, 
compared  with  all  that  preceded  it,  was  so  entirely  new, 
he  would  again  manifest  himself  by  an  entirely  new  name  ? 
Now  we  may  be  certain  that  he  never  called  himself  by 
a  new  name,  but  in  reference  to  some  new  manifestation 
of  his  character:  was  it  not  then  to  be  concluded,  that 
when  he  should  appear  in  the  character  of  Redeemer, 
it  would  be  with  some  new  development  of  the  infinite 
perfections  which  are  comprised  in  his  essence;  yet 
that  it  could  not  be  as  a  separate  Divine  Person;  just 
as,  when  he  manifested  himself  as  Jehovah  to  Moses,  it 
was  under  a  new  character,  but  without  any  difference 
as  to  person  from  that  in  which  he  was  known  as  God 
Almighty?  Accordingly,  both  prophets  and  evangelists 
unite  in  proclaiming  that  such  is  the  fact.  Isaiah  de- 
clares, over  and  over  again,  that  the  Being  who  redeems 
the  church  and  human  race  is  Jehovah;  and  not  only 
so,  but  that  Jehovah  the  Redeemer  is  he  that  formed 
the  human  race,  that  maketh  all  things,  that  stretcheth 
forth  the  heavens  alone,  that  spreadeth  abroad  the  earth 
by  himself.  It  is  impossible  for  words  to  be  framed  to 
express  more  strongly  the  Sole  Divinity  of  the  Speaker, 
or  to  declare  more  explicitly,  that  the  Redeemer  of  the 
church  is  the  Only  God.  "  Thus  saith  Jehovah  thy 
Redeemer,  and  he  that  formed  thee  from  the  womb:  I  am 
Jehovah  that  maketh  all  things,  that  stretcheth  forth  the 
heavens  alone,  that  spreadeth  abroad  the  earth  by  myself ''"''f 
What  can  be  more  clear?  especially  when  coupled  with 
the  declarations  of  the  chapter  preceding,  where  we 
read,  "  I,  even  I,  am  Jehovah,  and  beside  me  there  is  no 
Saviour. '^''X     But  Jesus  is  constantly, called /^e  Saviour 

*  Ex.  vi  .  2,  3, 

\  Isa.  xliv.  24.  See  also  the  two  preceding  verses.  Our  transla- 
tors here  use  the  word  Lord  ;  but  in  the  original  it  is  Jehovah,  which 
is  far  more  expressive. 

t  Ch.  xliii.  1. 


THE    TRINITY,  217 

m  the  New  Testament:  nay,  the  very  name,  Jesus, 
means  the  Saviour:  but  Jehovah  declares,  that  beside 
himself  there  is  no  Saviour:  the  very  name,  Jesus,  the 
Saviour,  involves  then  a  blasphemy,  unless  the  being 
who  owns  it  is  the  alone  Jehovah.  How  clearly,  too, 
is  this  established  by  the  declarations  of  Jesus  himself! 
When  Philip  blindly  thought  of  the  Father  as  a  sepa- 
rate Person,  and  said,  "  Lord,  shew  us  the  Father,  and 
it  suf?iceth  us;"  Jesus  answered,  '*  Have  /  been  so 
long  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  knoivn  me,  Philip? 
He  thai  hath  seen  me,  hath  seen  the  Father;  and  how 
sayest  thou  then,  Shew  us  the  FathcrV'*  It  is  impossible 
for  language  to  be  more  explicit;  and  I  have  never  seen 
any  attempt  to  explain  it  to  any  but  in  the  New-church 
sense,  which  did  not  wear  the  character  of  most  miser- 
able subterfuge,  most  palpable  violence.  Thus,  while 
the  Old  Testament  openly  declares,  that  there  is  no 
Saviour  beside  Jehovah,  and  no  Creator  but  Jehovah 
the  Redeemer,  the  Redeemer  of  the  New  Testament 
corroborates  the  testimony  with  his  solemn  assurance, 
that  there  is  no  Father,  that  is,  no  Jehovah,  out  of  him. 
If  he  that  hath  seen  him  hath  seen  the  Father,  it  can 
only  be,  because  He  is  Himself  the  Person  of  the 
Father,  who  dwells  in  him  as  the  soul  dwells  in  the 
body.  Hence  he  is  the  proper  Object  of  worship.  As, 
when  we  address  a  man's  body,  we  address  his  soul  at 
the  same  time;  and  in  fact,  if  he  is  a  sincere  man,  we 
see  his  soul  in  his  body,  because  it  shines  through  it, 
and  causes  it  to  express  all  its  sentiments;  so,  when  we 
address  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  at  the  same  time  ad- 
dress the  Father;  and,  in  fact,  we  see  the  Father  in 
him;  because  his  person  is  "the  brightness  of  the 
Father's  glory,  and  the  stamped  impression  of  his  sub- 
5i«nce"t  (as  the  original  of  that  passage  expressed  it, — 
not  person,  according  to  the  sense  now  attached  to  that 
term,  because  the  Father,  since  the  coming  of  Jesus 
Christ,  has  no  Personal  Form  distinct  from  his.) 

Altogether,  then,  I  trust,  the  Candid  and  Reflecting  will 
admit,  that  these  first  truths  of  theology  are  most  certain, 
and  assailable  by  no  valid  objection:  that  as  there  is,  and 
can  be,  but  One  God,  so  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  He: 

*  John  xiv.  9.  t  Heb.  i.  3. 

19 


218  ATONEMENT    AND    MEDIATION    OF 

that  in  his  Glorified  Person  the  whole  Trinity  centers; 
the  Divine  Essence,  or  Father,  being  his  Divine  Soul, 
the  Divine  Manifestation,  or  Son,  being  his  Divine  Form, 
and  the  Divine  Influencing  Power,  or  Holy  Spirit,  being 
his  Divine  Eflluent  Life  and  Operation:  thus  that  the 
Person  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  proper  Person  of 
the  Father,  and  is  the  sole  Dispenser  of  the  gifts  of  sal- 
vation. 


SECTION  VIIL 

The  Aionement  and  Mediation  of  Jesus  Christ. 

I  AM  now  to  address  to  the  Candid  and  Reflecting 
some  remarks  on  the  Atonement  and  Mediation  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  These  are  subjects  on  which  tomes 
innumerable  have  been  written;  and  certainly,  to  present 
our  views  respecting  them  with  such  fulness  as  the 
labors  which  have  been  bestowed  on  building  up  and 
fortifying  the  commonly  received  sentiments  might  seem 
to  demand,  would  require  at  least  a  whole  volume  of 
moderate  dimensions.  As,  however,  I  have  determined, 
in  this  work,  to  treat  at  greatest  length  those  subjects 
in  regard  to  which  our  views  are  generally  thought 
most  strange,  which  are  those  relating  to  the  eternal 
world  and  state,  and  to  the  claims  of  the  enlightened 
Swedenborg  to  attention  as  a  particular  Instrument  for 
making  known  the  truths  to  be  discovered  at  the  Lord's 
second  coming;  I  shall  treat  this,  like  the  other  princi- 
pal doctrinal  sentiments  which  I  am  called  here  to  dis- 
cuss, with  much  brevity.  I  shall  simply  propose  and 
explain  what  we  believe  to  be  the  truth:  I  shall  offer  the 
system  which,  in  our  estimation,  explains  all  the  phae- 
nomcna  of  cause:  and  shall  leave  the  reader,  for  himself, 
to  apply  it  to  the  detection  of  the  fallacies,  which  com- 
pose, or  support,  the  more  prevailing  doctrines. 

"  All  things,"  says  a  great  authority,  "  are  of  God, 
who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus  Christ,  and 
hath  committed  unto  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation; 


JESUS    CHRIST.  219 

To  wit ;  that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world 
unto  himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them.'"* 
The  Apostle  here  deHvers,  in  one  single  sentence,  the 
whole  doctrine  of  the  Atonement;  and  to  call  attention 
to  it  he  propounds  it  in  the  most  express  and  formal 
manner.  "  God  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself  hij  Jesus 
Christ:''''  and  the  ministry  of  this  reconciliation,  commit- 
ted to  the  Apostles,  was,  to  declare  this  truth;  "to  wit, 
that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  hiinsclf^ 
not  imputing  their  trespasses  unto  them."  The  word 
here  translated  recenci/iaf/ow,  is  the  same  as  is  elsewhere 
rendered  atonement:  it  cannot  then  be  denied,  that  the 
Atonement  of  Scripture  is  nothing  else  but  our  reconci- 
liation with  God,  effected  by  the  dwelling  of  God  in  the 
person  of  Jesus  Christ.! 

*  2  Cor.  V.  18,  19. 

t  The  above  text  might  therefore  with  equal  propriety  be  render- 
ed thus  :  "  All  things  are  of  God,  who  hath  atoned  us  to  himself  by 
Jesus  Christ,  and  hath  committed  unto  us  the  word  of  atonement ;  to 
wit,  that  God  was  in  Christ,  atoning  the  world  unto  himself,"  &c.  At 
present  the  word  atonement  occurs  only  once  in  the  New  Testament. 
That  is  in  Rom.  v.  11,  where  the  apostle  says,  "  And  not  only  so  but 
we  also  joy  in  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have 
now  received  the  atonement."  It  is  not  a  little  extraordinary,  that  a 
word  which  occurs  but  once  in  the  whole  of  the  New  Testament, 
from  which  more  especially  Christians  profess  to  derive  their  creed, 
should  have  come  to  occupy  so  great  a  space  in  the  language  of 
the  theology  of  the  day.  And  it  is  more  extraordinary  still,  that  it 
should  have  come  to  be  supposed  that  the  Lord  made  an  atonement 
to  the  Father,  thus  that  the  atonement  was  received  bij  the  Father, 
when  yet  it  is  said,  in  the  only  text  of  the  New  Testament  where 
the  word  occurs,  that  it  is  we  who  have  received  the  atonement. 
The  reason  is,  because  the  proper  meaning  of  the  word  has  been  lit- 
tle attended  to;  which  is,  as  stated  above,  reconciliation.  This  was 
the  only  meaning  which  the  word  bore  when  the  Scriptures  were 
translated;  although,  like  the  words  person,  ghost,  and  others,  it 
has  since  assumed  a  different  signification ;  and  men  have  been  too 
much  influenced  in  their  religious  sentiments,  by  the  changes  which 
have  gradually  taken  place  in  the  meaning  of  words.  In  every 
other  place,  the  same  word,  and  its  corresponding  verb,  are  translated 
reconciliation,  and  to  reconcile.  Thus  in  the  verses  preceding  that 
just  quoted  from  Romans,  our  translators  say,  "For  if  when  we 
were  enemies  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son, 
much  more,  being  reconciled,  we  shall  be  saved  by  his  life  :"  then 
follows,  "  And  not  only  so,  but  we  also  joy  in  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  received  the  atonement."  Here 
then  atonement  is  used  as  the  answering  substantive  to  the  verb  to 
reconcile.     .Atonement,  is  literally  at-one-ment  ; — the  state  of  being 


220  ATONEMENT    AND    MEDIATION    OF 

The  Rev.  Mr  Beaumont  affirms,  that  we  deny  this 
ministry  of  reconciliation;  and  quotes,  as  if  they  were 
against  us,  instead  of  being,  as  is  the  fact,  entirely  con- 
firmatory of  our  doctrines,  such  texts  as  speak  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  r.s  having  become  a  sacrifice  for  us,  or  as 
having,  as  Paul  in  one  place  explicitly  states,  "given  him- 
self as  an  ofTering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  a  sweet  smell- 
ing savor. '^  And  he  says,  "  But  if  we  may  not,  as  Baron 
Swedenborg  would  teach  us,  view  Christ  as  a  sacrifice 
for  sin,  then  we  require  of  the  Swedenborgians  to  tell 
us,  what  the  Mosaic  sacrifices  were  types  of:  for  ac- 
cording to  their  doctrine,  those  sacrificial  types  had  no 
antitypes.''  This  paragraph  displays  such  utter  igno- 
rance respecting  what  our  doctrines  are,  as  is  inexcusa- 
ble in  one  who  undertakes  to  write  against  them.  Our 
doctrines  never  teach  that  we  may  not  view  Christ  as  a 
sacrifice  for  sin;  but  they  shew,  on  the  contrary,  how 
he  truly  was  such,  and  rectify  the  great  mistakes  which 
many  entertain  in  regard  to  what  a  Scriptural  sacrifice 
is:  and,  so  far  from  making  the  Mosaic  sacrifices  types 
without  antitypes,  they  bring  their  antitypes  to  view  in  a 
more  clear  and  satisfactory  manner  than  was  ever  before 
accomplished. 

First,  then,  we  will  shew,  that  the  sacrifices  of  the 
Mosaic  law  were  not  meant  to  represent  the  punishment 
of  sin;  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  they  represented  the 
hallowing  of  every  affection  and  principle  of  the  mind, 
and  thus  of  the  whole  man,  to  the  Lord.  Secondly,  that 
the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ  did  not  consist  in  his  suffer- 
ing the  punishment  due  to  sin,  but  in  his  hallowing 
every  principle  of  his  Human  Nature  to  the  Godhead, 
till  at  length  his  Human  Nature  became  a  living  sacri- 
fice, or  thing  fully  consecrated,  sanctified,  and  hallowed, 
by  perfect  union  with  his  Divinity.  Thirdly,  That  the 
Lord  is  called  a  Mediator  in  respect  to  his  Humanity, 
because  in  this  he  has  opened  to  us  a  new  and  living 
way  of  access,  or  Medium  of  approach,  to  his  Divinity. 

at  one,  or  in  agreement.  See  Acts  vii.  26,  1  Mace.  xiii.  50,  2  Mace. 
i.  5,  vii.  33.  Though  the  word  atonement  occurs  but  once  in  the 
New  Testament  it  is  often  used  in  tlie  Old,  but  always  in  the  sense 
oi  reconciliation.  Doubtless,  then,  the  atonement  of  Christian  doc- 
trine is  reconciliation  with  God,  including  the  means  by  which  re- 
conciliation is  efTected. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  221 

I.  First,  then,  we  are  to  shew,  that  the  sacrifices  of 
the  Mosaic  law  were  not  meant  to  represent  the  punish- 
ment due  to  sin;  but,  on  the  contrary,  that  they  repre- 
sented the  hallowing  of  every  affection  and  principle  of 
the  mind,  and  thus  of  the  whole  man,  to  the  Lord. 

The  prevailing  opinion  in    regard  to    the   Levitical 
sacrifices  is  that   first    stated;  that   the  slaying    of  the 
animal,  and  the  burning  of  him,  or  of  part  of  him,  on  the 
altar,  represented  the  punishment  due  to  the  offerer,  and 
that,  in  sacrificing  the  animal,  the  offerer  was  considered 
as  entreating  that  the   suffering  inflicted  upon   it   might 
be  accepted  in  lieu  of  the  punishment  deserved  by  him- 
self    This  is  the  notion  which  the  Jewish  Rabbins  have 
of  the  subject;  who  say  also,    that  a  confession  of  sins 
was  made  over  the  victim,  when  the  offerer  laid  his  hand 
upon  its  head,  and  thus  that  the  sins  were  considered  as 
transferred  to  the  animal,  and  punished  in  him  instead  of 
the  offerer.     It  is  however  certain,  that  this  is  merely 
one  of  the  traditions   of  the  Jews,  by    which,  as  in  so 
many  other  instances,  they  have   perverted  the    divine 
law;  for  although  the  offerer  was  commanded  to  lay  his 
hand  upon  the  head  of  the  victim,  not  one  word  is  said  in 
the  Sc7'iptures  of  any  confession  of  sins  to   be  then  made. 
The  only  instance  in  which  a  confession  of  sins  accom- 
panied the  laying  on  of  the  hand,  is   that  of  the  scape- 
goat; respecting  which  Moses  commanded,  that  "  Aaron 
should  lay  both  his  hands  upon  the  head  of  the    live 
goat,  and  confess  over  him  all  the  iniquities  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  and  all  their  transgressions  in  all  their 
sins,  putting  them   upon   the  head  of  the  goat."*     But 
this  goat,  being  thus  representatively  loaded   with  sins, 
was  considered  as  unclean,  and  instead  of  being  sacri- 
ficed, was  sent  away  into  the  wilderness:  even  the  man 
that  was  employed  to  send  him  away  was  considered  as 
contaminated  by  the  operation,  and  rendered  unclean  also, 
so  that  he  was  required  to   wash  his  clothes   and    bathe 
his  flesh  in  water,  before  he  was  allowed  to  return  into 
the  camp.t     Seeing  then,  when  it  was  intended  that  a 
confession  of  sins  should    be  made   over  a  victim,    the 
command  for  it  is  so  expressly  given,  can  it  be  supposed 
that  a  similar  confession  was  intended  to  be  made  over 

*  Lev.  xvi.  21.  t  Ver.  26. 

19* 


222  ATONEMENT    AND    MEDIATION    OF 

all  the  victims,  when  it  is  never  commanded  at  all?    And 
when  the  representative  effect  of  this  confession  of  sins 
over  an  animal  was  to  render  him  unclean,  so  that  tohavo 
offered  him  up  in  sacrifice  would  have  been  an  abomina- 
tion, and  the  only  orderly  way  of  disposing  of  him  was 
to  send  him  away  into  the  wilderness,  to  denote  the  re- 
jection of  man's  sins,    separated  from    himself,   to  hell 
from  whence  they    came;  can  it  be    supposed  that    the 
animals  actually  sacrificed  were  in  like  manner  rendered 
unclean,  by  a  similar  confession  of  sins  being  made  over 
them,  and  thus  a  similar  representative  transfer  of  sins 
to  them?     The  idea  is  monstrous  in  the  extreme;  it  is 
such  as  could  only  have  been  invented  by  the  Jews  who 
wrote  upon  the  ceremonies  of  the  ancient  law  long  after 
those  ceremonies  had  ceased   to  be   performed.     The 
books  of  Jevvish  writers   are  full  of  similar  groundless 
fancies,    which    either   originated   with  themselves,   or, 
if  they  are  traditions  handed  down  from  others,    belong 
to  the  class  of  those  traditions  which  are  condemned  by 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  making  the  law  of  God  of  none 
effect.     Accordingly,  the  learned,  who  long  mistakenly 
looked  to  the  Jews  as  the   natural  expositors  of  the  law 
of  Moses,  are  now   generally   convinced  that  to   follow 
them  is  to  follow  blind  guides  indeed,  and  that  the  only 
way  of  learning  how  the  laws  of  Moses  were  originally 
obeyed,  is,  by  studying  the  lav/s  themselves,  as  they  are 
still  extant  in  the  books  of  Moses,  and  to  take  nothing 
upon  the  mere  authority  of  the  Jewish  scribes  which  is 
not  there  clearly  implied.*     But  alas!  the  learned  had 
not  made  the  discovery,  that   Jewish  Rabbins  are  very 
unsafe  guides,  before  they  had  transferred  a  great  portion 
of  their    doctrines  into  their    system    of  Christianity. 
The  Rabbinical  notion  that  the  animal  slain  in  sacrifice 
was  put  to  death  in  lieu  of  the  offerer  as  a  substituted 
victim,  the  sins  of  the  offerer  being  considered  as  trans- 
ferred to  him,  has  entered  very  deeply  into  most  systems 
of  modern  theology,  and  forms  in  them  so  fundamental 
a  part,  that  you  cannot  take  it  away  without   throwing 
down  the  whole.      Christian  teachers,  indeed,  do  not, 
with  the  Jews,  consider  that  the  slaying  of  an  animal  in 
sacrifice  had  any  virtue  in  itself,  but  they  transfer  to  the 

*  See  Michaelis'a  Commentaries  on  the  Laws  of  Moses,  passim. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  223 

sufferings  and  death  of  Jesus  on  the  cross,  all  that  the 
Jews  have  feigned  respecting  their  animal  sacrifices. 
They  consider  that  he  died  to  appease  by  his  sufferings 
the  wrath  of  the  Father;  that  the  sins  of  all  mankind, 
that  is,  of  all  who  have  faith,  were  representatively 
transferred  to  him,  and  that  he  suffered  the  punishment 
of  them  in  their  stead:  all  which  doctrines  are  drawn 
from  the  Jewish  notions  of  sacrifices,  and  belong  to 
those  traditions  by  which  the  law  of  God  is  made  of  none 
effect. 

The  reason  then  why,  in  all  sacrifices,  he  that  offered 
the  sacrifice  was  directed  to  put  his  hand  upon  the  head 
of  the  victim,  was,  not  by  that  act  representatively  to 
transfer  his  sins, — for  to  do  this  the  sins  were  to  be 
confessed  over  him,  and  that  by  positive  command,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  scape-goat, — but  to  express  commu- 
nication between  the  offerer  and  his  sacrifice,  which 
was  necessary  to  give  the  animal  its  representative 
efficacy.  The  animals  offered  in  sacrifice  represented 
the  good  affections  of  various  kinds  from  which  the 
Lord  is  to  be  worshipped;  but  without  this  symbol  of 
communication  between  the  offerer  and  the  animal,  the 
latter  would  not  represent  any  good  affection  presented 
by  him:  to  imply  that  the  offerer  himself  wished  to  wor- 
ship the  Lord  by  and  from  the  good  affection  which  the 
animal  represented,  it  was  necessary  that  he  should 
perform  the  representative  rite  of  putting  his  hand  upon 
its  head;  after  which  the  animal  represented  a  good  af- 
fection cherished  by  him,  and  presented  by  him  to  the 
Lord,  from  a  sincere  acknowledgment  that  everything 
good  is  from  the  Lord  alone. 

Now  that  this  is  the  true  idea  of  sacrificial  worship, 
is  evident  from  many  parts  of  Scripture:  We  will  just 
select  one  which  is  completely  conclusive.  That  the 
putting  of  the  animal  to  death  and  burning  of  it  upon  the 
altar,  does  not  represent  the  punishment  due  to  the 
offerer,  is  clear  from  this  circumstance,  that  the  altar, 
on  which  the  sacrifices  were  offered,  is  called,  in  various 
places,  "the  table  of  the  Loid."  Thus  the  Lord  says 
by  the  prophet  to  the  priests,  "  Ye  have  profaned  it 
(that  is,  the  name  of  the  Lord)  in  that  ye  say,  The  table 
of  the  Lord  is  polluted,  and  the  fruit  thereof,  even  his 
meat"  (the  meat,  observe,  of  the  Lord),  "  is  contempti- 


224  ATONEMENT    AND    MEDIATION    OF 

ble."  Again:  ''  Ye  offer  polluted  bread  upon  mine 
altar:  and  ye  say,  Wherein  have  we  polluted  thee?" 
The  answer  is,  "  In  that  ye  say,  The  table  of  the  Lord 
is  contemptible."*  Nothing  can  be  more  clear,  from 
these  and  numerous  other  instances,  than  that  the  things 
offered  in  sacrifice,  and  burnt  upon  the  altar,  were  con- 
sidered as  constituting  a.  feast, — were  presented  as  upon 
a  table  for  the  Lord  to  eat;  which  he  was  considered  to 
do  when  they  were  consumed  by  fire.  This  is  the  reason 
why  it  is  so  often  said  in  Leviticus,  that  they  were  to  be 
burnt  "  for  a  sweet  smelling  savor  to  the  Lord,"  They 
are  expressly  called  the  Lord's  bread,  and  his  meat. 
Can  that  then  which  he  is  considered  to  accept  as  food 
be  the  punishment  and  torments  of  sinners  ?  Could  it  be 
the  punishment  and  torments  of  his  own  Son  ?  To  suppose 
that  this  is  what  is  meant  by  the  slaying  of  the  animals  and 
burning  of  them  on  the  altar,  is  indeed  to  polluto  and  pro- 
fane the  Lord's  table :  it  is  to  suppose  the  altar  to  be  a  type 
of  the  regions  of  eternal  misery,  and  to  regard  him  who 
accepts  the  off*erings  upon  the  altar  as  the  being  who 
presides  over,  and  enjoys  with  delight,  the  torments  of 
the  lost.  Indeed,  when  we  consider  the  sacrifices  in 
the  light  of  food  spread  upon  the  Lord's  table  for  his 
acceptance,  as  we  find  they  are  represented  in  the  Word, 
we  must  necessarily  see  that  no  idea  of  punishment  and 
torments  is  in  them  represented.  The  death  of  the  vic- 
tim is  not  regarded  as  to  the  idea  of  punishment,  nor  is  its 
dying  ever  spoken  of  in  the  appointment  of  the  ceremo- 
nial: but  the  slaying  of  it  is  merely  considered  as  a 
necessary  part  of  the  preparation  of  it  for  food,  and  no 
more  conveys  the  idea  of  the  punishment  due  to  the  per- 
son who  offers  it,  than  that  idea  is  conveyed  by  the  reap- 
ing of  the  corn  which  was  to  be  presented  in  the  offer- 
ing of  the  first-fruits,  and  which,  as  well  as  the  animal 
sacrifices,  was  consumed  upon  the  altar.  Preparation 
for  food  is  in  both  cases  what  is  implied.  And  when 
either  the  sacrifices  or  the  meat  offerings  are  placed 
upon  the  altar  or  table  ofthe  Lord,  they  are  considered 
simply  in  the  light  of  viands  of  which  the  Lord  was  in- 
vited to  partake. 

What  then  are  the   viands  of  which  the  Lord  can 

•  Mai.  i.  12,  7. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  225 

partake  in  reality  ?  When  any  allusion  is  made  in  Scrip- 
ture to  his  hunger,  it  means,  his  intense  desire  that  his 
goodness  and  love  should  be  recieved  by  mankind.  On 
the  occasion  of  his  temptation  in  the  wilderness  it  is 
said,  that  ''  when  he  had  fasted  forty  days  he  was  after- 
wards a  hungered:''^  where  his  fasting  refers  to  the  de- 
praved state  of  mankind  and  of  the  church  in  its  entire 
desolation,  and  his  hungering  is  his  intense  desire  for 
man's  salvation.  The  hunger  of  the  Lord  then  is  sat- 
isfied, when  his  love  and  goodness  are  received  by 
mankind;  and  this  is  done,  when  man  receives  affections 
of  goodness  and  truth  from  him,  and  returns  them  to  him 
in  sincere  adoration,  with  the  heartfelt  acknowledgment 
that  they  are  from  him  alone.* 

Here  then  we  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  purport  of  the 
sacrifices  in  use  in  the  representative  church, — an  idea 
which  explains  the  whole  system,  and  banishes  obscuri- 
ty from  ^very  part;  whereas  on  the  supposition  that  they 
represent  the  punishment  due  to  sinners,  and  transferred 
from  them  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  find  ourselves 
stumbling  amid  extravagances  and  inconsistencies  at 
every  step. 

But  it  may  perhaps  be  thought  that  this  view  of  the 
subject  excludes  all  reference  of  the  sacrifices  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  direct  contrary,  however,  is 
the  fact.  All  the  Mosaic  law  of  sacrifices  was  fulfilled 
in,  and  by,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  a  supereminent 
manner,  and  thus,  in  its  highest  sense,  it  has  reference 
to  him:  it  is  only  in  a  subordinate  sense,  and  as  followers 
of  him,  that  it  has  a  spiritual  fulfilment  in  us.  We,  in 
our  subordinate  degree,  as  walking  after  him,  are  to  be 
sacrifices  too;  but  he  is  the  great  sacrifice  of  all. 

When  man  continually  receives  from  the  Lord  the 
graces  of  which  he  is  the  author,  and  ascribes  all  to  him, 
in  the  manner  represented  by  the  sacrificial  worship  of 
the  Mosaic  law;  when  every  affection  and  perception  of 
his  heart  and  mind  of  which  the  various  kinds  of  sacrifices 
were  representative,  or  himself  in  regard  to  such  affec- 
tions and  perceptions,  is  thus  continually  hallowed  to  the 

*  See  the  above  view  of  the  sacrifices  and  of  the  nature  of  the 
divine  hunger,  further  illustrated  in  the  Plenary  Inspiration  of  the 
Scriplures. 


226 


ATONEMENT    AND    MEDIATION    OF 


Lord;  it  follows,  that  M'hen  his  sanctification  is  complet- 
ed, the  whole  man  is  thus  devoutly  consecrated.     This 
is  the  state  which  the  apostle  exhorts  us  to  attain,  when 
he  says,  "  I  beseech  you,   brethren,  that    ye    present 
your    bodies  a  living  sacrifice^  holy,    acceptable,    unto 
>^  ^    God;  which    is  your    reasonable    service."*     Such    a 
4    *  living  sacrifice  is  a  man  wholly  devoted  to  the  Lord,  who 
is  wholly  renewed  by  the  reception  of  new  principles  of 
love,  thought,  and  action,  from  him;  whose  selfish  life 
^  ,.    is  extinct,  whilst  he  lives  by  a  new  life,  which  is  life  in- 
^  ^  deed.     This  the  same  apostle  speaks  of  as  being  his  own 
state,  when  he  says,  "  lam  crucified  with  Christ:  never- 
theless I  live;  yet    not   I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me;  and 
the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh,  I  live  by  faith  in 
the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for 
me:"|  where,  by  the  flesh,  and,  in  the  preceding  quotation 
by  the  body,  the  apostle,  as  in  other  parts  of  his  writings, 
i  >,  does  not  merely  mean   the  material  body,  but  all  that  is 
*        called  the  natural  or  external  man.    Here  then  he  clearly 
describes  a  state  of  renovation  of  the  whole  man  in  which 
he  is  made  a  living  sacrifice  unto  God. 

II.  We  now  shall  be  enabled  to  see  the  truth  of  our 
second  proposition:  That  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ 
did  not  consist  in  his  suffering  the  punishment  due  to 
sin, — for  if,  as  we  have  seen,  nothing  relating  to  punish- 
ment is  included  in  the  Scripture  idea  of  sacrifices, 
nothing  of  this  could  be  included  in  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus 
Christ; — but  that  his  sacrifice  consisted  in  the  hallowing 
of  every  principle  or  element  of  his  Human  Nature  to 
the  Godhead,  till  at  length  his  whole  Human  Nature 
became  a  living  sacrifice,  or  thing  fully  consecrated, 
sanctified,  and  hallowed,  by  perfect  union  with  his  Di- 
vinity. 

We  have  seen  in  the  last  Section,  that,  whilst  the 
human  form  which  the  Lord  assumed  by  birth  of  the  vir- 
gin, necessarily  partook,  at  first,  of  her  infirmities,  its 
soul,  from  conception,  was  no  other  than  the  indivisible 
Jehovah.  So  long,  then,  as  has  also  been  shewn,  as  the 
human  form  thus  assumed  partook  at  all  of  what  it  de- 
rived from  the  mother,  it  could  only  receive  the  commu- 
nications of  the  Divine  Essence  with  more  or  less    of 

*  Rom.  xii.  1.  \  Gal.  ii.  20. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  227 

limitation:  in  order  to  its  receiving  the  whole,  and  be- 
coming properly  the  Divine  Form  of  the  Divine  Essence, 
it   was  necessary  that  it  should  be  entirely  renewed,  by 
the  successive  extirpation  of  the   disorderly  and   finite 
human  forms,  and  the  bringing  down,  from  the  Divinity 
within,  of  divine  forms,  into  the  human  and  natural  de- 
gree, to  supply  their  place.     To  this  operation  the  Lord 
Jesus    alludes    on   various   occasions.     Sometimes    he 
refers  to  the  painful  part  of  it,  which  was  the  extirpation 
of  what  he  had  from  the  mother;  as  when  he  says,  "  I 
have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with;  and  how  am  I  strait- 
ened  till    it    be    accomplished!"*     At    other  times  he 
speaks  of  the  glorious  part;  as  when  he  says,  "  Father, 
glorify  me  with  thine  own  self,  with  the  glory  which  I 
had    with  thee  before  the  world  was."t     And  that  this 
was  necessary  for  man's  salvation,  he  declares  when  he 
says,  "  For  their  sakes  I  sanctify  myself;  that  they  also 
may  be  sanctified  through  the  truth:" J  where,  by  sanc- 
tifying himself,   the  Lord  means  his  purifying  his  Hu- 
manity from  the  infirmities  inherited  from  the  mother, 
and  thus  rendering  it   divine.     The  same  thing  is  fre- 
quently spoken  of  by  the  apostles:  as  by  Paul,  when  he 
speaks  of  Jesus  as  being  ''  made  perfect  through  suffer- 
ings :"§  the  sufferings  were  the  temptations  and  conflicts 
by  which  he  put  off  the  imperfections  inherited  from  the 
mother;  and  the  making  perfect   was  his    rendering  the 
Humanity  the  perfect  image,  the  appropriate  Form  and 
proper  Person,  of  his  Divine  Soul.     The  last  suffering, 
by  which  he  wholly  put  off  all  that  he  had  received  from 
the  mother,   was  the  passion  of  the  cross.     By  this,  all 
the  merely  natural  life  of  the  finite  and  material  nature 
was  extinguished:  and  when  this  was  done,  the  Divine 
Life  flowing  down  from  within  (everything  uncongenial 
with  it  being  extinct),  descended  into  the  very  lowest 
forms  of  the  human   nature,  extirpated  all  that  was  yet 
left  from  the  mother,  even  to  the  consuming  of  the  ma- 
terial particles;  clothed  itself  with  divine    forms,    still 
belonging  to  the  human  and  natural  degree,  put  on  in 
place  of  what  was  put  off;  and  so  raised  his  body  from 
the  tomb,  no  longer  finite,  no  longer  liable  to  any  of  the 
accidents  of  the  mere  creature,  but  wholly  divine,  the 

*  Luke  xii.  50.  t  John  xvii.  5.  t  Ver.  19.  §  Phil.  iii.  21. 


228  ATONEMENT    AND    MEDIATION    OF 

adequate  Form  for  the  reception  and  in-dwelling  of  the 
whole  Divine  Essence.  This  is  his  ''  glorious  body," 
as  it  is  called  by  the  Apostle,  after  the  image  of  which 
our  spiritual  bodies  are  to  be  fashioned.  Some  idea  of 
it  may  also  be  conceived  from  the  glorious  view  granted 
to  the  three  disciples  at  the  transfiguration:*  what  was 
seen  by  them  was  the  Divine  Person  in  the  sphere  im- 
mediately within  and  above  that  of  the  material  frame. 
In  this  Divine  Form  and  Person,  therefore,  as  the 
Apostle  declares,  "  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
dwelleth  bodily :" — in  any  form  and  person  not  altogether 
divine,  it  is  obviously  impossible  that  all  the  fulness  of 
ike  Godhead — the  whole  infinitude  of  the  Divine  JVature — 
can  dwell.  It  all  is  centered  in  the  Person  of  Jesus, 
demonstrating  that  his  Person,  since  his  resurrection,  is 
altogether  Divine:  how  vain  then  must  it  be  to  look  for 
the  Godhead  anywhere  else,  than  in  that  Divine  Form 
in  which  the  whole  of  it  dwells! 

Now  admitting  this  view  of  the  completeness  of  the 
sanctification,  glorification,  or  deification,  of  the  Lord's 
Human  Nature  to  be  correct;  and  admitting  at  the  same 
time  the  view  above  developed  of  the  nature  and  effect 
of  real  spiritual  sacrifices  as  offered  by  man;  and  we 
clearly  see  how  truly  the  Lord,  as  to  his  Humanity,  is 
called  a  sacrifice.  The  series  of  the  Mosaic  sacrifices, 
in  their  complete  order,  represents  the  entire  sanctifica- 
tion of  man,  insomuch  that  the  man  who  spiritually  offers 
them  becomes  himself  a  sacrifice, — a  thing  or  being 
wholly  devoted  to  God,  and  wholly  assimilated,  in  his 
finite  degree,  to  the  divine  imago:  so,  in  a  higher  sense, 
it  represents  the  complete  sanctification  or  glorification 
of  the  Lord's  Humanity,  whereby  this  was  really  devoted 
to  the  Divine  Essence  itself,  and  entirely  assimilated 
to  the  Divine  JNature,  so  as  to  be  the  actual  Form  for 
its  bodily  in-dwelling.  And  this  is  correctly  said  to  be 
done  for  us:  for  us  this  sacrifice  was  offered,  to  effect 
atonement,  or  reconciliation,  between  man  and  God:  as 
Jesus  says,  ''for  their  sokes  I  sanctify  myself;"  and  as 
Paul  declares,  "  Christ  our  passover  is  sacrificed  for 
us;''''  not  because  the  Father's  anger  required  appeasing, 
or  could  be  appeased  by  the  sight  of  the  Son's  sufter- 

*  Mat.  xvii.  2. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  229 

sngs;  but  because,  when  the  Humanity  was  thus  sacri- 
ficed, that  is  sanctified,  and  united  to  the  Essential  Di- 
vinity, the  divine  influences  were  accommodated  to  man's 
state,  so  as  to  be  operative  to  the  renewal  of  his  heart 
and  mind, — to  his  sanctification  also.  Thus  it  is  most 
true,  as  the  Apostle  observes,  that  ^'  he  appeared  to  put 
away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself."  It  is  to  put  away 
sin  from  the  mind  which  receives  him  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  given:  and  of  this  it  is  said,  while  Jesus  was 
engaged  in  his  ministry  on  earth,  "  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
not  yet,  because  that  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified:"* — 
not  that  no  divine  influences  had  ever  before  been  af- 
forded; but  that  such  as  were  adapted  to  reach  and 
affect  man  in  the  state  to  which  he  had  then  fallen, 
could  not  be  imparted,  till  the  Humanity  of  Jesus, — the 
only  Divine  Principle  from  which  such  influences  can  be 
jy;„«„,      ^«o  giijiincd,  that  is,  sacrificed,  that  is,  deified. 

The  above  observations  may  also  sufficiently  explain, 
how  it  is  that  man  is  saved  through  the  sufferings  and 
death  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  or  through  his  blood, 
which,  in  the  Apostolic  writings;  is  constantly  used,  ac- 
cording to  the  phraseology  of  the  Jews,  as  a  figurative 
expression  for  his  sufferings  and  death.  These  were 
not  inflicted  on  him  as  the  proper  punishment  of  our 
sins:  yet  were  they  most  truly  undergone  by  him /or 
W5,  and  were  indispensable  to  our  salvation.  They, 
and  especially  his  last  suffering  of  death,  were  the  means 
by  which  his  Humanity  was  glorified.  They  thus  were 
the  means  by  which  we  are  delivered  from  hell  and 
raised  to  heaven,  through  our  reception  of  the  saving 
graces  communicated  by  the  life-giving  energies  of  his 
Holy  Spirit;  which  could  only  be  imparted  to  us  from 
the  Eternal  Jehovah  in  his  Glorified  Humanity.  Thus 
it  is  most  strictly  true,  according  to  our  apprehension 
of  the  subject,  that   "  by  his  stripes  we  are  healed." 

We  may  novv'  then  discern,  how  truly  atonement  or 
reconciliation  was  made  between  God  and  man  bv  the 
sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  enmity,  or  contrariety, 
between  man  and  God,  was  first  abolished  in  his  own 
person,  and  in  him   man,  or  human   nature  in  general, 

*  John  vii.  29.     Our  translators  have  said,  "  was  not  yet  given  f^ 
but  they  have  marked  the  word  given  by  Italics,  to  intimate  that 
there  is  nothing  answering  to  it  in  the  original. 
20 


230  ATONEMENT    AND    MEDIATION    OF 

was  reconciled  to  God:*  and  then,  by  his  agency  and 
influence,  it  is  abolished  in  us  also,  and  we  are  recon- 
ciled, and  restored  to  agreement  with  God,  in  and  by 
him.  In  the  expressive  language  of  the  apostle ;|  ''  If, 
when  we  were  enemies" — when  human  nature  in  gene- 
ral was  in  a  state  of  contrariety, — "  we  were  reconciled 
to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son," — the  separation  v/as 
abolished  by  the  glorification  of  the  Human  Nature  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  of 
which  glorification  his  death  was  the  immediate  cause, — 
"  much  more,  being  reconciled,  shall  we  be  saved  by 
his  life," — much  more,  now  that  the  utter  separation  no 
longer  exists,  shall  we  be  endowed  with  saving  graces 
through  the  life-giving  influences  proceeding  from  him, 
who  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us, — What 
reason  then  have  we  to  "joy  in  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  ^vhom  we  ha^-h  >ioxt-  uvrFivrr)  THE 
Atonement !"J  Blessed  be  God,  who  "  hath  atoned 
us  to  HI3ISELF  BY  Jesus  Christ!"  Adorcd  be  the 
mercy,  by  which    ''  God  was  in  Christ   atoning  the 

WORLD  unto  himself  !"§ 

III.  That  the  Lord  is  called  a  Mediator  in  respect  to 
his  Humanity,  because  in  this  he  has  opened  a  new 
and  living  way  of  access  to  his  Divinity;  must  now,  I 
apprehend,  be  so  evident,  that  it  is  needless  to  employ 
many  words  in  its  proof. 

We  have  just  alluded  to  the  text  in  which  the  apostle 
says  of  Jesus,  that  '•'  he  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession 
for  us, "II  But  by  interceding  he  does  not  here  mean 
soliciting  or  entreating,  as  a  supplicant  to  a  sovereign;  nor 
is  there  anything  in  the  context  to  sanction  such  a  gross 
external  idea;  but,  acting  as  a  medium,  or  as  that  which 
goes  between,  which  is  the  strict,  literal  meaning  of  the 
word  to  intercede.  Such  intercession  is  the  proper  oflice 
of  the  Divine  Humanity:  for  this  receives  into  itself  the 
unmitigated  fulness  of  the  Divine  Essence,  and  dispen- 
ses it  to  man  in  a  form  adapted  to  his  capacities  of  re- 
ceiving it;  just  as  a  man's  body  receives  into  itself  the 
whole  of  the  powers  of  his  soul,  and  dispenses  its  ener- 

*  See  this  truth,  which  is  usually  so  entirely  overlooked,  largely 
proved  and  insisted  on  in  Sherlock  on  Happiness  and  Punishment 
in  the  JVext  JVorld,  ch.  v.  §  3. 

t  Rom.  v.  10.  t  Ver.  11. 

§  See  the  note  above.  ||  Heb.  vii.  25. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  231 

gies,  in  the  manner  adapted  to  make  them  efficient,  on 
persons  and  things  around  it.  How  exactly  does  the 
Lord  himself  describe  his  action  in  this  interceding  or 
mediatorial  character,  when  he  says,  respecting  the 
Comforter  or  Holy  Spirit,  "whom  /will  send  unto  you 
from  the  Father:''^*  teaching,  that  the  Divine  Essence  is 
the  origin  of  the  Divine  Influencing  Power,  but  that  the 
Divine  Humanity,  in  which  it  abides  in  all  its  infinite 
fulness,  is  the  Medium  of  dispensing  its  agency  on  man- 
kind."f     How  accurately,  also,  is  the  true  doctrine   on 

*  John  XV.  26. 

t  The  reader,  I  am  sure,  will  be  gratified  by  seeing  the  above  idea 
beautifully  illustrated  by  Dr  Watts.  '•  The  sun  in  the  natural 
v/orld,"  he  observes,  "  is  a  bright  emblem  of  divinity,  or  the  God- 
head ;  for  it  is  the  spring  of  all  light  and  heat  and  life  to  the  crea- 
tion.— Now  if  we  should  suppose  this  vast  globe  of  fire,  which  we 
rcill  *^~  — ",  *-  i^<-  ciiciu5t:a  In  a- huge  hollow  sphere  of  crystal, 
which  should  attemper  its  rays  like  a  transparent  veil,  and  give  mild- 
er and  gentler  influences  to  the  burning  beams  of  it,  and  yet  trans- 
mit every  desirable  or  useful  portion  of  light  or  heat ;  this  would 
be  a  happy  emblem  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  in  whom  dwells  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.  It  is  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  in 
a  mild  and  gracious  manner,  conveys  the  blessings  originally  derived 
from  God,  his  Father,  to  all  the  saints.  We  partake  of  them  in  our 
measures  in  this  lower  world,  among  his  churches  here  on  earth  ; 
but  it  is  with  a  nobler  influence,  and  in  a  more  sublime  degree,  the 
blessings  of  paiadise  are  diffused  through  all  the  mansions  of  glory, 
by  this  illustrious  medium  of  conveyance,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God." 
[IVorks,  vol.  vii.  p.  143.]  This  emblem  is  as  just  as  it  is  striking, 
provided  v/e  guard  against  one  or  two  misapprehensions  which  may 
arise  from  it.  Though  the  Son  of  God,  or  the  Divine  Humanity,  is 
the  medium  of  conveying  all  bles-jings  to  men  and  angels,  we  are 
not  to  regard  it  as  a  mere  passive  conveyance,  but  an  infinitely  ac- 
tive one.  He  says,  "  As  the  Father  hath  life  in  himself,  so  hath  he 
given  to  the  Son  to  have  life  in  himself :"  thus  the  Divine  Energies 
or  Holy  Spirit  are  not  simply  transmitted  from  the  Divine  Essence 
through  the  Humanity,  but  are  first  received  by  the  Humanity,  and 
thence,  by  its  own  life  and  activity  derived  from  its  perfect  union 
with  the  Divine  Essence,  dispensed  to  mankind  ;  precisely  as  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  words  quoted  above,  "  whom  I  will  send  unto  you 
frojn  the  Father.  Secondly  :  although  it  is  true  that  the  rays  of 
Godhead  are  "  atteirpered"  by  the  humanity,  they  are  not  thereby 
weakened  or  blunted  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  are  rendered,  as  to  their 
influence  on  man,  far  more  penetrating  and  powerful ;  so  that 
Watts's  crystal  sphere  must  be  considered  as  operating,  in  regard 
to  man,  in  the  manner  of  a  magnifying  lens.  Thus  the  prophet,  in 
regard  to  the  effect  on  man  of  the  assumption  of  humanity  by  Jeho- 
vah, uses  these  strong  figures  ;  "  In  that  day,  the  light  of  the  moon 
shall  be  as  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  the  light  of  the  sun  shall  be 
sevenfold,  as  the  light  of  seven  days  ;  in  the  day  that  the  Lord  bind- 


232  ATONEMENT    AND    MEDIATION    OF 

this  subject  expressed  by  the  Apostle  Paul!  ^'  There  is 
one  God/'  says  he,  "  and  one  Mediator  between  God 
and  man,  the  man  Christ  Jesus."*  He  expressly  affirms, 
that  it  is  the  man  Christ  Jesus  who  is  the  Mediator. 
But  Jesus  is  generally  allowed  to  be  God  as  well  as 
man:  yet  the  apostle  takes  care  to  guard  us  from  sup- 
posing that  his  Divinity  mediates  between  us  and  some 
other  Divinity,  by  thus  expressly  restricting  the  office 
of  mediation  to  his  Humanity;  hence,  also,  he  never 
uses  the  title,  "the  man  Christ  Jesus,"  on  any  other 
occasion  whatsoever.  How  plainly  does  this  instruct 
us,  that  the  Human  Nature  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
is  the  only  Medium  by  which  we  can  have  access  to 
his  Divine  Essence;  and  that  his  Divine  Essence  is 
not  distinct  from  that  of  the  Father,  but  is  the  Father 
Himself!  His  essential  Divine  Nature  is  what  the 
Apostle  calls  God,  and  which  ho  Jo^la,i-c.o  to  h^  Ono: 
his  glorified  Human  Nature  is  what  he  calls  the  man 
Christ  Jesus;  and  which  he  also  declares  to  be  one,  to 
intimate  that  the  Human  Nature  in  him  is  essentially 
different  from  what  it  is  in  all  other  beings,  and  is  as  his 
Divine,  being  the  adequate  organ  of  conveying  to  man 
the  divine  communications. 

It  is  commonly  imagined,  from  the  Lord's  being  call- 
ed a  Mediator,  as  well  as  from  his  being  said  to  inter- 
cede, that  he  uses  entreaty  and  prayer  with  the  Father 
in  behalf  of  man.  How  vain  is  it  for  those  v^ho  believe 
this  to  deny,  that  in  heart  they  believe  in  at  least  two 
Gods,  and  those,  also,  of  opposite  natures!  for  how  can 
the  God  who  supplicates  and  entreats  be  the  same  God 
as  he  who  is  supplicated  and  entreated'-  How  can  the 
nature  of  the  God,  who,  without  any  feast  on  another's 
sufferings  to  appease  his  offended  justice,  entreats  and 
supplicates  another  God  to  lay  aside  his  wrath,  be  the 
same  as  that  of  him  who  only  lays  aside  his  wrath  in  com- 
pliance  with  such  entreaty  and  supplication;  in  which 

eth  up  the  breach  of  his  people,  and  healeth  the  stroke  of  her 
wound."  (Isa.  xxx.  26.)  I  will  only  add  further,  that  if  the  sun 
enclosed  in  a  crystal  sphere  is  a  just  emblem  of  the  Father  and  Son 
of  the  Scripture*,  we  S3c  how  impossible  it  is  to  regard  them  as  two 
persons  ;  we  see  that  their  relation  is  precisely  that  of  the  soul 
and  the  body  ;  and  wa  see  how  idle  it  must  be  to  seek  for  God,  any- 
where but  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ :  to  which  conviction  Dr 
Watts  himself  is  reputed  to  have  arrived  before  he  died. 
*  1  Tim.  ii.  5. 


JESUS    CHRIST.  233 

also  he  is  continually  reminded  of  the  sufferings  to 
which  the  supplicant  has  submitted  to  appease  him? 
Nay,  how  can  the  God  who  cannot  raise  man  to  heaven 
of  his  own  free  motion,  but  must  first  obtain  his  forgive- 
ness of  another  God  by  prayer  and  supplication,  be  any 
God  at  all?  Does  not  the  supposition  fully  imply,  that 
the  Father  and  Son  are  as  completely  two  Gods  as  any 
two  human  beings  are  two  men,  and  that  they  differ  as 
much  from  each  other  as  a  subject  from  an  absolute  sove- 
reign ?  All  this  fiction,  also,  respecting  the  Lord's  me- 
diating and  interceding  for  man  by  praying  to  the  Father, 
has  been  invented  in  direct  contradiction  to  his  own  as- 
surance: "  I  say  NOT  unto  you,"  says  he,  '-'■  that  I  will 
pray  the  Father  for  you:  for  the  Father  himself  lovelh  you, 
because  ye  have  loved  me,  and  have  believed  that  I  came 
out  from  God."*  To  believe  that  the  Lord  came  out  from 
flr^,  :<,  i^  b,.i;cvc  thai  his  Humanity  is  an  immediate 
evolution  from  his  Divine  Essence — an  actual  maiiifes- 
tation  of  what  was  always  potentially  included  in  the 
Divinity,  ready  to  be  put  forth,  for  the  salvation  of  man, 
when  the  fulness  of  state  and  time  should  have  arrived. 
When  this  is  acknowledged,  the  Father  himself  is  said  to 
love  us,  because  the  love  which  constitutes  his  essence 
is  then  capable  of  being  communicated  to  us  and  received 
by  us.  Hence  again  we  see  that  the  Lord's  Humanity 
is  the  Medium  by  which  we  gain  access  to  his  Divinity, 
and  are  brought  into  communication  with  it,  just  as  by 
the  medium  of  a  man's  body  we  gain  access  to,  and  have 
communication  with,  his  soul.  The  Lord  teaches  the 
same  truth  in  the  most  direct  form  when  he  says,  "  I  am 
the  door:  by  me  if  any  man  enter  in,  he  shall  be  saved, 
and  shall  go  in  and  out,  and  find  pasture."!  VVhat  is 
the  door  but  the  medium  of  access?  And  that,  to  obtain 
such  access,  we  are  not  to  address  the  naked  Divinity 
immediately,  but  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Divine 
Person  of  the  Father,  he  again  teaches  when  he  says, 
*'  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  He  that  entereth  not  by 
the  door  into  the  sheepfold,  but  climbeth  up  some  other 
way,  the  same   is  a  thief  and  a  robber. "J 

Altogether,  it   assuredly  is  abundantly  evident,   that 
the  Mediatorship  of  Jesus  Christ  does  not  consist  in  his 

*  John  xvi  26,  27.  j  John  x.  9.  J  Ver.  1. 

20* 


234  THE    CHRISTIAN     LIFE. 

introducing  us,  by  entreaty  or  any  other  means,  to  the 
favor  of  a  God  out  of  and  separate  from  himself^  but  in 
his  having  assumed  and  glorified  a  Humanity  to  afford  a 
Medium  of  access  to  the  Divinity  which  dwells  in  ful- 
ness in  it.  Let  us  then,  instead  of  thinking  to  climb  up 
some  other  way,  enter  in  ''  By  a  new  and  living  way  which 
he  hath  consecrated  for  us  through  the  veil,  that  is  to 
say,  his  flesh;^^* — that  Humanity,  which  he  has  deified 
and  united  to  Deity  to  be  for  men  the  Medium  of  ap- 
proach 10   God. 

In  conclusion:  May  not  these  views  of  the  New 
Church  on  the  Atonement  and  Mediation  of  Jesus  Christ 
be  confidently  recommended  to  the  consideration  of  the 
Candid  and  Reflecting.^  Do  they  not  unfold  the  true  doc-, 
trine  of  the  Scriptures  on  these  momentous  subjects,  in 
a  manner  which  is  calculated  to  recommend  the  Scrip- 
tures themselves  to  the  more  cor<3ial  n/-.r«pptnnp.e  of  men 
of  reason  and  reflection?  Do  they  not  satisfactorily  clear 
the  Christian  Religion  from  the  imputation  of  sanction- 
ing doctrines  at  which  all  reason  and  common  sense 
revolt,  by  shewing  that  the  sentiments  on  those  subjects 
which  bear  that  character  are  not  those  of  the  true 
Christian  Religion,  but  are  the  mere  fallacious  conclu- 
sions of  gross  minds,  that  have  looked  at  the  Scriptures 
in  a  merely  superficial  manner?  Do  they  not  evince, 
that  the  genuine  doctrines  of  Scripture  are  here  coinci- 
dent with  the  views  of  sound  reason  and  true  philosophy? 
Ought  not  then  the  writings  of  the  enlightened  Instru- 
ment by  whom  these  doctrines  are  deduced  from  the 
Scriptures,  to  be  favorably  regarded  by  all  those  to 
whom  true  philosophy,  sound  reason,  and  scriptural  the- 
ology, are  objects  of  esteem? 


SECTION  IX. 

The    Christian  Life. 


I  AM  now  finally  to  appeal  to  you,  my  Candid  and 
Reflecting  Readers,  on  the  subject  of  the  Christian 
Life;  and  I  trust  I  shall  not  find  it  difficult  to  convince 


Heb.  X.  20. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE, 


235 


you,  that  when  our  doctrines  affirm,  that  a  life  of  right- 
eousness, but  not  of  Pharisaic  righteousness,  is  the  life 
that  leads  to  heaven,  they  affirm  the  genuine  doctrine 
of  the  Scriptures. 

Among  the  accusations  which   have    been    brought 
against  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church,  there  is  none 
which  will  appear  more  extraordinary  to  future  ages,  none 
which  at  present  appears  more  surprising  to  those   who 
know  what  they  are,  than  the  monstrous  charge  of  their 
being   opposed  to  true   holiness  of  life:  Yet  the  Rev. 
Mr  Beaumont   has    thought   proper  to  affirm,  that  the 
enlightened  man  who  was  made  the  instrument  of  dedu- 
cing those  doctrines   from  the  Scriptures,  comes   under 
the   condemnation  of  the  Lord's  words  when  he  says, 
*'  Whosoever  shall  break  one  of  the  least  of  these  com- 
mandments, and  shall  teach  men  so,  shall  be  called  least 
in  the  Uin£yrlr.rr^  of  koctvon."      He  founds  this  imputation 
chiefly  upon  the  title  of  one  of  the  most  heavenly  chap- 
ters in  that  truly  heavenly  work,  the  treatise  on  Heaven 
and  Hell, — "  That  it  is  not  so  difficult  a  thing  to  live  for 
heaven  as  some  suppose,"  which  he  calls   *'  a  written 
prescription  for  dealing  with  a  slack  hand,  and  being  at 
ease  in  Zion."     A  more  artful  attempt  to  raise  an  un- 
founded prejudice  has  seldom  been  witnessed.      The 
title  of  the  chapter,  and  the  title  alone,  since  no  other 
part  of  it   would  suit  the  purpose,  is  quoted:  a  turn 
is  given  to  it  by  the  manner  of  introducing  it  quite  dif- 
ferent from  any  that  its  author  ever  thought  of  its  bear- 
ing; and  then  the    assailant  goes    on,    through    two  or 
three  pages,  moralizing  on  the     "  awful  responsibility" 
lying  on  the  writer,  the   translators,  and  circulators,  of 
''  false  doctrines  and  loose  principles;"    as  if  such  guilt 
were  incurred  by  the  writer,  translators,  and  circulators, 
of  the  doctrines  and  principles  of  the  New  Church!  Yet 
why  should  it  surprise  us?  when  truth  has  always  receiv- 
ed the  same  treatment  on  its  first  promulgation,  and  be- 
fore its  doctrines  were  so  generally  known  as   to   make 
evident  to  all  the  falsehood  of  the  accusation.    The  wri- 
tings of  the  early  Christian  apologists  are  filled  with  ac- 
counts of  the  monstrous  fictions  which  were  invented  to 
blacken  the  then  new  religion  and  those  who  received  it. 
All  the  most  celebrated  Reformers,   at   the  era  of  the 
separation  from  Rome,  were   represented  as  monsters 
of  impiety:  an  imputation  certainly  which  was  grossly 


236  THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

scandalous  and  unfounded,  though  I  would  by  no  means 
represent  those  upon  whom  it  was  cast  as  maintainers  of 
genuine  truth.  Slill  less  would  I  affirm  this  of  the  mod- 
ern Methodist:  but  this  is  no  reason  for  representing 
their  excesses  as  worse  than  they  were:  yet  their  severe 
antagonist,  Bishop  Lavington,  concludes  his  celebrated 
work  entitled  The  Enthusiasm  of  Methodists  and  Papists 
Compared,  with  a  delineation  of  abominations  which  were 
practised  at  the  Eleusinian  mysteries,  and  intimates  his 
conviction,  that  the  private  meetings  of  the  Methodists 
(and  he  quotes  passages  from  their  writings  as  counte- 
nancing the  charge)  were  not  more  innocent.  But  why 
advert  to  inferior  instances  to  evince  how  naturally  both 
genuine  and  comparative  truth,  even  to  the  mere  zeal 
tor  what  is  believed  to  be  the  truth,  are  maligned  and  mis- 
represented on  their  first  appearance }  Do  the  opponents 
of  the  doctrines  of  the  new  Nor  Oh^vok  ctrc.;r>  fliAm  to 
a  sense  which  does  not  belong  to  them?  the  Lord  Him- 
self, by  his  representative,  David,  complains  that  his 
divine  sentiments  were  similarly  perverted:  "  False  wit- 
nesses did  rise  up:  they  laid  to  my  charge  things  that  I 
knew  not;" — "  Every  day  they  wrest  my  words."*  Do 
they  affirm  of  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church  which 
are  formed  from  the  pure  truths  of  the  Word  of  God,  that 
they  teach  men  to  break  the  divine  commandments  ?  The 
disciple  is  not  above  his  Master;  and  the  teachers  of  the 
professing  church  said  of  the  Word  of  God  himself,  when 
Incarnate  among  them,  "  We  know  that  this  man  is  a 
sinner. "t 

The  whole  of  the  verse  of  which  a  part  is  so  calumnious- 
ly  applied  to  the  illustrious  Swedenborg  by  his  accuser, 
with  the  verse  which  follows  it,  delivers,  in  the  most 
explicit  manner,  the  Lord's  doctrine  respecting  the  spe- 
cies of  righteousness  which  was  to  distinguish  his  disci- 
ples: "  Whosoever,"  he  declares,  "  shall  break  one  of 
these  least  commandments,  shall  be  called  the  least  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven;  but  whosoever  shall  do  and 
teach  them  shall  be  called  great  in  the  kingdom  of  heav- 
en. For  I  say  unto  you.  Except  your  righteousness 
shall  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Phari- 
sees, ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heav- 
en."J     It  is  here  most  decisively  taught,  that  a  life  of 

*  Ps.  XXXV.  11,  Ivi.  5.  t  John  ix.  24.        t  Matt.  v.  19,  20. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  237 

righteousness,  but  not  of  Pharisaic  righteousness  is  the 
way  to  heaven.  I  propose  then  to  shew,  that  the  doc- 
trine thus  advanced  is  to  be  understood  in  all  the  fulness 
of  meaning  which  the  Lord's  words  naturally  convey; 
that  to  invent  any  interpretation  of  them  which  tends  to 
evade  their  evident  purport, — to  break,  or  diminish  the 
force  of  any  of  the  divine  commandments, — is  to  incur 
the  condemnation  which  they  pronounce;  and  that  the 
doctrine  they  teach,  is,  in  all  its  integrity  and  purity,  the 
doctrine  of  the  New  Church  and  of  the  writings  of  Swe- 
denborg. 

By  a  life  of  righteousness,  it  will  of  course  be  under- 
stood, we  mean  a  life  of  obedience  to  the  Lord's  com- 
mandments: and  that  such  obedience  is  required  of  all 
those  that  call  themselves  his  disciples,  is  so  evident  in 
Scripture,  that  scarcely  any  can  be  so  bold  as  openly  to 
^^„_,.  ;*,  tKv/v^gii  lijctijy  break  the  force  of  the  command- 
ments respecting  it  by  straining  their  language  to  differ- 
ent meaning.  The  whole  of  the  Bible,  both  in  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  New,  is  nothing  else  but  the  code  of 
God's  commandments,  with  an  ample  comment  respect- 
ing the  rewards  which  Divine  Goodness  bestows  on 
those  who  keep  them,  and  the  punishments  which  una- 
voidably overtake  those  who  persevere  in  disregarding 
them.  Under  the  Jewish  dispensation,  the  keeping  of 
the  commandments  of  God  had  rewards  in  this  life  at- 
tached to  it,  and  the  disobeying  of  them  was  followed  by 
punishments  in  this  life:  and  when  such  disobedience 
became  national,  it  was  to  be  followed  with  expulsion 
from  their  own  country  and  exile  and  captivity  in  foreign 
lands.  Accordingly,  when  the  Jews,  having  long  refu- 
sed, by  obedience  to  the  divine  commandments,  to  ren- 
der of  the  fruits  of  the  vineyard  to  its  rightful  Lord,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  direful  extent  of  casting  the  Divine  Heir 
out  of  his  own  vineyard  and  slaying  him,  they  were  finally 
ejected  from  being  tenants  of  the  vineyard,  or  from  being 
the  recognised  church  of  God  in  the  world;  and  with  it 
agreeable  to  the  nature  of  the  punishments  with  which, 
under  that  dispensation,  disobedience  was  attended,  they 
were  miserably  destroyed  by  foreign  invaders,  were 
finally  cast  out  of  their  own  land,  and  have  been  abject 
wanderers  in  foreign  countries  ever  since;  exhibiting  a 
standing  monument  before  our  eyes  of  the  awful  conse- 


238  THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

quences  of  disobedience.  But  many  modern  teachers 
■will  hero  exclaim,  '^  Yes!  but  the  case  is  quite  different 
now:  they  were  under  a  covenant  of  works,  but  we  are 
under  the  covenant  of  grace."  True,  I  answer,  from 
the  doctrines  of  the  New  Church:  we  are  under  the 
covenant  of  grace:  but  in  what  does  this  grace  consist? 
In  the  power  which  is  bestowed  upon  man,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  increased  divine  aids  and  communications 
of  the  Spirit,  which  are  the  blessed  effects  of  the  Incar- 
nation of  Jehovah  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ;  where- 
by he  is  enabled  to  keep  the  divine  coinmandments  from 
that  inward  ground,  in  the  spirit  and  not  in  the  letter 
only, — in  the  heart  and  mind  as  well  as  in  the  outward 
form, — v/hich  is  intended  by  the  Author  of  those  com- 
mandments, the  God  who  looketh  at  the  heart.  We  are 
under  grace:  "  Grace  and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ:" 
and  "  as  many  as  received  him  to  ihem  gcirv.  Ko  j>o.../^».  i^ 
become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  as  many  as  believe  on 
his  name."*  Believing  on  his  name,  then,  does  not,  of 
itself,  make  them  sons  of  God,  but  brings  the  power  of 
becoming  such;  in  other  words,  it  is  indispensably  neces- 
sary to  our  receiving  from  God  the  power  to  keep  his 
commandments  in  the  spirit  as  well  as  in  the  letter:  and 
'^  he  that  hath  my  commandments,  and  keepeth  them," 
saith  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "  he  it  is  that  loveth  me :  and 
he  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will 
love  him,  and  will  manifest  myself  unto  him:"t  which 
is  only  another  mode  of  declaring,  that  such  shall  be 
sons  of  God, 

If  v/e  were  to  cite  all  the  passages  in  the  discourses  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  which  he  declares  that  the 
keeping  of  his  commandments,  in  other  words,  a  life  of 
righteousness,  is  indispensable  to  admission  into  heaven, 
we  must  quote  a  great  proportion  of  his  instructions  in- 
deed, including  the  entire  burthen  of  the  whole.  More, 
surely,  cannot  be  necessary,  to  remind  Christian  read- 
ers of  the  constant  tenor  of  his  exhortations,  than  to  repeat 
the  sublime  and  pathetic  conclusion  of  the  longest  of  his 
discourses,  his  sermon  on  the  mount.  That  whole  dis- 
course is  a  series  of  precepts  enjoining  righteousness  of 
life;  and  he  closes  it  with  saying,  "  Whosoever  heareth 
these  sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him 

*  John  i.  17,  12.  t  Ch,  xiv.  21. 


THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  239 

to  a  wise  man  which  built  his  house  upon  a  rock :  and  the 
rain  descended  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds  blew, 
and  beat  upon  that  house;  and  it  fell  not;  because  it  was 
founded  upon  a  rock.  And  every  one  that  heareth  these 
sayings  of  mine,  and  doeth  them  not,  shall  be  likened  unto 
a  foolish  man,  which  built  his  house  upon  the  sand:  and 
the  rain  descended,  and  the  floods  came,  and  the  winds 
blew,  and  beat  upon  that  house;  and  it  fell:  and  great 
was  the  fall  of  it."*  So,  how  plainly  are  the  conditions 
of  admission  to  eternal  happiness  laid  before  us  in  the 
parable  of  the  sheep  and  the  goats!  To  the  sheep,  with 
words  ofthe  highest  tenderness  and  affection,  the  Divine 
Judge  enumerates  a  number  of  good  works,  as  represen- 
tative of  a  life  of  charity  and  goodness,  which  he  says 
they  had  done,  and  done  to  him:  and  these  are  expressly 
denominated  the  righteous:  to  the  goats  the  same  works 
are  mentioned  as  having  Uy  them  been  entirely  neglected : 
and  the  discourse  concludes  with  saying.  ''And  these  shall 
go  away  into  everlasting  punishment,  out  the  righteous 
into  life  eternal."!  -^^^  the  doctrine  of  the  Epistles 
is  precisely  the  same  as  that  ofthe  Gospels,  though  much 
mischievous  industry  has  been  employed  to  set  them  at 
variance;  and  many  theologians  of  high  name  have 
thought  they  have  effected  a  glorious  achievement, 
when  they  have  made  the  Apostles  appear  to  contradict 
their  Divine  Master,  and  when  they  have  extolled  the 
sentiments  thus  forced  from  their  epistles  as  the  genuine 
gospel,  and  depreciated  the  opposite  sentiments  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  not  "  evangelical. "J  Paul,  however,  plainly 
enough  teaches,  that  it  is  righteousness  of  life  which  ena- 
bles man  to  stand  in  the  judgment,  and  to  obtain  admission 
into  heaven.  "  God,"  he  declares  "  will  render  to  every 
man  according  to  his  deeds:  To  them  who  by  patient 
continuance  in  well  doing  seek  for  glory  and  honor  and 
immortality, — eternal  life:  But  unto  them  that  are  con- 
tentious and  do  not  obey  the  truth,  but  obey  unrighteous- 
ness, indignation  and  wrath:  tribulation  and  anguish  upon 
every  soul  of  man  that  doeth  evil; — but  glory,  honor,  and 

*  Matt.  vii.  24  to  27.  t  Matt.  xxv.  34  to  46. 

X  See  a  Sermon  of  Nathan  Taylor,  an  old  divine,  in  the  Method- 
ist Magazine  for  July  or  August,  1823.  Toplady,  in  his  posthumous 
tracts,  quotes  the  words  of  Paul  in  Acts  xiii.  39  as  the  doctrine  of 
the  gospel,  in  opposition  to  the  words  of  Jesus  in  Matt.  v.  48,  which 
he  treats  as  the  abrogated  doctrine  of  the  law.  It  would  be  easy  to 
multiply  examples. 


240  THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

peace,  to  every  man  that  worketh  good."*  So  the  same 
apostle  assures  us,  that  to  produce  this  life  of  obedience  ia 
the  design  of  the  grace  of  God:  "  The  grace  of  God," 
saith  he,  "that  bringeth  salvation,  hath  appeared  unto 
all  men,  teaching  us  that,  denying  ungodliness  and  world- 
ly lusts,  we  should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly,  in 
this  present  world;  looking  for  that  blessed  hope,  and  the 
glorious  appearing  of  the  great  God,  even  our  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ;  who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he  might  re- 
deem us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto  himself  a  pe- 
culiar people,  zealous  of  good  works,  "t  Here  the  apos- 
tle plainly  tells  us,  that  the  grace  of  God,  of  which  he 
elsewhere  speaks  so  often,  is  given  to  enable  us  to  live 
righteously;  that  it  is  by  living  righteously  that  we  shall 
be  prepared  to  stand  before  our  Saviour  and  Judge;  and 
that  the  design  of  his  coming  into  the  world,  whence  we 
receive  such  grace,  also  was,  to  onoKlo  n<a  qo  to  live,  by 
being  zealous  of  good  works. 

This  then  is  the  doctrine  of  the  New  Church  respect- 
ing the  way  of  admission  into  heaven:  and  this  we  see, 
according  to  the  Scriptures  throughout,  is  the  only  way 
thither.  A  good  life,  or  a  life  of  righteousness,  seriously 
commenced  in  this  world,  is  the  only  life  that  can  endure 
the  sphere  of  heaven,  and  the  presence  of  the  Divine 
Judge.  On  this  account,  a  life  according  to  the  ten 
commandments  is  one  of  the  two  essentials  to  which  the 
doctrines  of  the  New  Church  reduce  the  whole  of  reli- 
gion :  the  other  is  the  acknowledgment  of  the  Lord.  And 
these  two  are  completely  incapable  of  being  separated 
in  act,  though  they  may  be  thought  of  separately  in  idea. 
For  no  one  can  live  a  life  of  obedience  to  the  command- 
ments, from  an  internal  ground,  as  well  as  in  outward  form 
from  himself:  it  is  only  possible  by  and  from  the  Lord, 
and  by  power  communicated  from  him;  let  none  there- 
fore suppose,  that,  when  insisting  upon  a  life  of  righteous- 
ness, we  go  about  to  establish  our  own  righteousness. 
It  being  only  possible  by  power  communicated  from  the 
Lord,  all  the  merit  of  it  belongs,  not  to  man,  but  to  the 
Lord  alone.  And  this  power  can  be  imparted  to  none 
but  those  who  acknowledge  the  Lord,  and  look  to  him  to 
impart  it.  In  like  manner,  no  one  in  heart  acknowledges 
the  Lord,  but  in   proportion  as  he  is  in  the  desire  of 

^  Rom.  it.  6  to  10.  t  Tit.  ii.  11  to  14. 


THE    CHUISTIAN    LIFE. 


241 


obeying  his  commaRdments;  without  which,  whatever  he 
may  say  with  the  lips,  he  is  in  the  denial  of  the  Lord  in 
his  heart,  whether  he  may  be  aware  of  it  or  not;  and  the 
loudest  profession  of  faith  is  but  an  empty  sound.  Faith 
and  life  invariably  go  together,  and  such  as  the  one  is, 
such  is  the  ether. 

Such  being  the  fact,  and  such  the  doctrine  of  the  New 
Church  on  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  life  of  righteous- 
ness,— most  cordially  does  she  accept  the  divine  decla- 
ration which  says,  ''Except  your  righteousness  shall 
exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
ye  shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
ven." What  is  the  righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  here  spoken  of,  and  rejected,  by  the  Lord? 
Its  character  is  abundantly  delineated  in  other  parts  of 
the  New  Testament.  It  was  the  righteousness  ofthose 
\yho  Tr^v^^--!  *u-  ^oot  (Strict  professors  of  the  church  at 
that  time  existing  in  the  world,  but  v.-hi^K  was  in  a  state 
of  utter  decline  and  corruption.  It  was  a  righteousness 
which  was  rigid  in  outward  observances,  especially  in 
kittle  matters^  but  which  quite  overlooked  and  disregard- 
ed the  true  end  and  design  of  the  divine  commandments, 
and,  while  it  kept  them  in  the  letter,  entirely  omitted 
them  in  the  spirit.  It  was  a  righteousness  which  did  its 
works  to  be  seen  of  men.  It  was  a  righteousness  which 
made  great  pretensions  to  more  religion  than  others, 
and  which  announced  its  claims  by  its  outward  appear- 
ance and  the  form  of  its  dress;  for  we  read,  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  that  they  made  broad  their  phylacteries, 
and  enlarged  the  borders  of  their  garments.  It  was  a 
righteousness  which,  in  the  language  of  the  prophet, 
continually  said  in  its  heart,  "  Stand  away,  and  come 
not  near,  for  I  am  holier  than  thou;"  and  the  professors 
of  which,  in  the  language  of  the  gospel,  "  trusted  in 
themselves  that  they  were  righteous,  and  despised  oth- 
ers." It  was  a  righteousness  which  made  clean  the 
outside  of  the  cup  and  of  the  platter,  while  within  they 
were  full  of  extortion  and  excess.  It  was  a  righteous- 
ness which  paid  tithe  of  mint,  and  anise,  and  cummin, 
and  omitted  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law,  judgment, 
mercy,  and  faith  or  fidelity.  It  was  a  righteousness 
which,  not  finding  the  precepts  of  the  divine  Word  nu- 
merous and  minute  enough  to  give  sufficient  opportunity 
21 


24:2  THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

for  its  love  of  display  and  pretence,  added  many  others 
to  it,  about  which  the  divine  law  is  silent  and  indifferent; 
such  as  the  washing  of  cups  and  pots,  brazen  vessels 
and  tables,  and  of  the  hands  before  meat.  In  short,  it 
was  a  righteousness  which  affected  the  external  man, 
only,  and  did  not  reach  within;  a  righteousness  which 
delighted  more  in  performances  of  its  own  invention, 
than  in  any  that  the  law  of  God  enjoined;  and  which, 
in  the  performance  of  the  latter,  even  when  it  kept  the 
moral  law  or  that  of  the  ten  commandments,  only  kept 
it  in  external  form,  and  merely  as  a  civil  and  moral  law 
— thus  from  outward  motives,  such  as  only  looked  to 
well-being  in  this  world, — without  regarding  it  at  the 
same  time  as  a  spiritual  law,  whose  precepts  are  to  form 
the  law  of  the  mind  as  well  as  the  law  of  the  body. 

What  then  is  the  righteousness  which  the  Lord  alluded 

to,  when  he  declares   that   it   is   a   iigin-v.--- ^  ".v>;r.h 

must  exceed  iliui  <.'f  tKo  Snibcs  and  Pharisees?'  Does 
he  mean  that  we  must  be  still  more  scrupulous  than 
they  in  matters  purely  indifferent?  Does  he  mean 
that,  whatever  they  do,  we  must  go  further  in  the 
same  line?  that  as  they  make  sad  their  faces  that  they 
may  appear  unto  men  to  fast,  we  must  make  ours  sad- 
der? that  as  they  so  arrange  the  form  of  their  gar- 
ments as  to  announce  their  pretensions  to. holiness  to  all 
beholders,  vvo  must  still  more  distinguish  ourselves  by 
the  singularity  of  our  appearance?  Nothing,  surely, 
notiiing  of  the  kind.  He  does  not  mean  that  we  are  to 
exceed  them  in  that  in  which  they  are  superabundant, 
but  in  that  in  v»'hich  they  arc  deficient;  by  keeping  the 
divine  commandments  in  our  hearts  as  well  as  in  our 
actions;  by  supplying  to  the  observance  the  inward  prin- 
ciple, without  which  the  outward  form  is  an  idle  mock- 
ery, a  dead  letter.  This  is  evident  from  the  comment 
which  the  Divine  Speaker  makes  upon  his  own  text. 
The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  thougiit  that  they  sufficiently 
obeyed  the  commandment  which  says,  '^  Thou  shaft  not 
kill,"  if  thev  did  not  carry  their  enmities  into  the  out- 
ward act  of  murder:  the  Divine  Author  and  Expositor 
of  the  commandment  declares,  that  he  is  guilty  of  a 
breach  of  it,  and  liable  to  divine  judgment  accordingly, 
"who  is  angry  with  his  brother  without  cause."  The 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  thought  that  they  sufficiently 
obeyed  the  commandment  which  says,  "  Thou  shalt  not 


THE    CHRISTIAN    LIP£. 


243 


commit  adultery,"  if  they  did  not  carry  the  concupis- 
cence into  the  very  act:  "  But  I  say  unto  you,"  says  the 
Divine  Author  and  Expositor  of  the  commandment, 
''That  whosoever  looketh  on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her, 
hath  committed  adultery  with  her  already  in  his  heart."  * 
And  from  these  two  instances,  the  Saviour  plainly  inti- 
mates the  extent  of  all  the  other  precepts  of  the  deca- 
logue, and  clearly  shows  in  which  direction  the  righteous- 
ness of  his  disciples  must  exceed  that  of  those  who  act- 
ed in  that  day  as  the  teachers  of  righteousness.  He 
calls  not  upon  us  to  be  more  sanctimonious  than  they 
w^ere,  but  more  sincere;  not  to  shelter  ourselves  behind 
the  mere  letter  of  a  precept,  but  to  take  in  with  it  its 
whole  spirit  and  design;  and  not  to  be  content  only  to 
shun  evils  as  they  appear  before  the  world,  but  so  to 
shun  them  as  to  avoid  them  also  in  the  sight  of  God. 

Ttxia  men  is  tne  species  of  righteousness  which  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  prescribos'to  his  disciples,  and  with- 
out which  he  declares  that  they  shall  in  no  case  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven:  and  this  accordingly  is  the 
life  which  is  insisted  upon  in  the  doctrines  of  the  New 
Church.  The  ten  commandments,  those  doctrines  affirm, 
understood  both  naturally  and  spiritually,  are  the  rule  of 
life  for  Christians.  Let  any  one  who  wishes  to  see  this 
clearly  proved,  consult  that  v/ork  of  Swedenborg's,  which 
treats  expressly  and  solely  on  this  subject:  it  is  called 
The  Doctrine  of  life  for  the  JS'eio  Jerusalem^  from  ike  Com- 
mandments of  the  JJccalogue.  It  consists  of  fourteen 
chapters,  in  which  the  same  number  of  leading  proposi- 
tions is  stated  and  proved  ;  and  as  they  are  all  most  pro- 
foundly important,  and  shew  in  the  strongest  light  what 
our  doctrines  are  upon  this  truly  vital  subject,  I  will  here 
repeat  them.  The  first — the  sentiment  with  which  the 
work  opens,  and  which  it  lays  down  as  the  fundamental 
of  all,  is  one  which  ought  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold 
in  every  church  and  in  every  house,  and,  most  indispen- 
sably, on  every  heait:  It  is,  That  all  Religion  has  rela- 
tion io  life  ;  and  that  the  life  of  Religion  is  to  do  goofL 
The  next  affirms,  That  no  one  can  do  good  which  is  really 
good  from  hir.iself  The  third  declares,  That  so  far  as 
man  shuns  evils  as  sins,  so  far  he  does  good,  nut  from  him- 
self bid  from  the  Lord.     The  fourth  states.    That  so  far 

'  Mat.  v.  21  to  23. 


244  THE    CHRISTIAX    LIFE. 

as  rimj  one  shuns  evils  as  sins,  so  far  he  loves  iruths.     The 
fifth  pronounces,  That  so  far  as  any  one  shuns  evils  as  sins, 
so  far  he  has  faith,  and  is   a  spiritual  man.     The  sixth 
observes,    That  the  Decalogue  points  out  uhat  evils  are  sins. 
The  seventh  explains,    That  murders,  adulteries,   tliefls, 
and  false  wHjicss,  of  every  hind,  are  the  evils  which  are  to 
he  shunned  as  sins.    The  four  next  evince.  That  so  far  as 
any  one  shuns  these  evils  as  sino,  he  is  in  the  opposite  good: 
thus  thai  so  far  as  any  one  thus  shuns  nmrder  of  every 
kind,  he  loves   his  neighbor;  so  far  as  any  one  thus  shuns 
adultery,  he  loves  chastity  ;  so  far  as  any  one  thus  shuns 
theft,  he  loves  honesty ;  and  so  far  as   any  one  thus  shuns 
false  U'it7icss,  or  lying,  he  loves   truth.     The  twelfth  de- 
monstrates,   That  no  one  can   shun  evils   as  sins,   so  as  to 
hold   them  in    aversion,  but  by    combating  against  them. 
The  thirteenth  assures  us.    That  man  ought  to  shun  evils 
as  si7is,  and  to  fight  against  thtm,  «^   :f  J..^.^..ir]  rfn  it  from 
himself  (becaubt-  tko'jLr^vfl  is  present  with  every  one  thai 
strives,  and  gives  him  the  power.)     The  fourteenth  dis- 
closes.   That  if  any  one  shun   evils  from   any  other  motive 
than  because  they  are  sins,  he  in  reality  does  not  shun  them, 
but  only  prevents  them  from  showing  themselves  before  the 
jcorld. — This,   my  Candid  Readers,  is  our  doctrine   on 
the  life  that  leads  to  heaven:  I  appeal  to  you  whether 
any  doctrine  can    go  more  completely  to  the  root  of  all 
evil.     Is  it  not  evident,  that   when  this  doctrine  affirms 
respecting  each  of  the  evils  prohibited  in  the  Decalogue 
that  every  kind  of  such  evil  is  to  be  shunned  as  sin,  it 
goes  to  the  full  extent  of  the  Lord's  requirement,   that 
the  righteousness  of  his  disciples  should  exceed  the  right- 
eousness of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  ?     To  shew  what 
is  meant  by  shunning  all  the  kinds  of  each  general  evil, 
I  will  mention  how  this  is   explained  in  the  chapter  on 
the  precept  respecting  shunning  adultery.     "  By  com- 
mitting adultery,  is  meant,"  says  the  enlightened  author, 
"  in  the  sixth  commandment  of  the  Decalogue,  in  a  nat- 
ural sense,  not  only  the  external  crime,  but  also  all  ob- 
scene  practices,  v.anton  discourse,  and  filthy  thoughts: 
but,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  by  committing  adultery  is  meant 
to  adulterate  the  good  things  taught  in  the  Word,  and  to 
falsify  its  truths:   but  in  the  supreme  sense,  by   commit- 
ting adultery  is  meant,  to  deny  the  Lord's  Divinity,  and 
to  profane  the  Word: — And  they  are  guilty  of  all  these 
kinds  of  adultery  together,  who  do  not,  both  in  faith  and 


THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE.  245 

life,  hold  adulteries  to  be  sins."  And,  after  shewing 
how  diametrically  opposite  the  uncleanness  of  adultery- 
is  to  the  chastity  of  marriage,  he  presently  adds,  "  Hence 
it  may  plainly  be  concluded  and  seen,  whether  a  man  is 
a  Christian  or  not, — yea,  whether  a  man  has  any  reli- 
gion or  not.  He  who  does  not,  both  in  faith  and  life,  hold 
adulteries  as  sins,  is  not  a  Christian,  and  has  no  religion. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  who  shuns  adulteries  as  sins  ;  and 
still  more,  he  who  on  that  account  holds  them  in  aver- 
sion ;  and  still  more,  he  who  on  that  account  abominates 
them  ;  has  religion,  and  is  a  Christian." — Does  not 
this  come  up  to  the  full  doctrine  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.''  Is  it  not  his  doctrine  in  all  its  integrity  and  pu- 
rity ?  And  as  all  the  other  evils  prohibited  by  the  Dec- 
alogue are  laid  open  in  the  same  searching  manner, —  I 
will  not  say  what  a  want  of  integrity, — but,  what  igno- 
xauce  ui  me  subject,  is  displayed  by  those,  who  can  re- 
proach the  doctrine  of  the  Now  Ch«.^ii  cvr  me  "  laxity  of 
its  precepts  !"  All  the  precepts  or  commandments  of 
God  they  enforce  in  all  their  fulness:  they  are  only  indif- 
ferent about  such  precepts  as  are  Pharisaical  additions 
to  the  lav/s  of  God, — the  mere  commandments  of  men, — 
vain  traditions,  the  tendency  of  which  is,  to  withdraw  at- 
tention from  the  commandments  of  God,  and  to  make 
them  of  none  effect. 

I  now  close  this  Appeal;  and  to  avoid  protracting  it 
further,  I  will  make  no  additional  attempt  to  recommend 
the  subjects  which  have  been  considered  to  the  favorable 
attention  of  you  to  whom  it  is  addressed, — the  Reflect- 
ing of  all  Denominations.  I  will  only  entreat  you,  as 
becomes  men  of  reflection  and  thence  of  candor,  to  weigh 
what  has  been  offered  in  the  balance  of  a  serious  and 
impartial  judgment,  and  under  the  influence  of  a  real 
love  of  truth;  and,  in  order  that  you  may  be  guided 
aright  in  your  decision,  I  would  only  earnestly  beg  of  you 
to  remember  the  request  made  in  the  introduction  above 
(pp.  6,  7), — to  put  your  minds  for  the  occasion  under  the 
direction  of  Him,  who  is  the  Truth  itself,  the  Light  of  the 
world.  Then,  and  then  only,  may  you  rely,  that  the  Holy 
Spirit,  which  He  sends  from  the  Father,  will  guide  you 
into  all  truth.  The  consequence,  I  trust,  will  be  that  you 
will  be  brought  to  the  conviction,  that  the  important 
Doctrines  of  Faith  and  Life  which  have  now  been  pre- 
sented to  your  consideration,  are  those  which  tend^  above 
21* 


246  THE    CHRISTIAN    LIFE. 

all  others,  rightly  to  inform  the  understanding  and  to 
purify  the  heart;  that  the  Views  which  have  been  offer- 
ed respecting  the  Eternal  World  and  State,  are  such  as 
carry  the  highest  evidence  of  their  own  reality,  and 
impress  the  reality  of  the  things  belonging  to  that  world 
and  state  in  the  strongest  manner  on  the  human  mind; 
and  that  the  opinions  which  have  been  advanced  respect- 
ing the  accomplishment  of  the  Second  Coming  of  the 
Lord  and  of  the  Last  Judgment,  with  the  raising  up  of 
a  Human  Instrument  for  making  them  known,  are  pre- 
cisely what  Prophecy,  rightly  understood,  should  lead 
mankind  to  expect,  and  what  Experience  and  Fact, — 
the  experience,  in  our  day,  of  the  whole  world,  and  facts 
which  press  upon  the  observation  of  all, — irresistibly 
confirm.  And  even  such  of  you  as,  not  yet  venturing 
to  put  your  minds  under  the  direction  of  the  Lord  Jesus 

Christ,  but    looking  for  light    lu  Rumo    aim. c  _.....„„ 

shall  not  be  cunvinoca  that  these  sentiments  are  true, 
must  yet,  I  trust,  be  satisfied,  that  both  our  doctrines 
and  ourselves  have  been  greatly  misrepresented,  and  are 
in  general  much  misunderstood; — that  our  doctrines  are 
not  altogether  undeserving  of  attention,  and  that  those 
who  hold  them  are  not  altogether  deserving  of  contempt. 
As  to  what  is  thought  of  ourselves,  however,  we  desire 
to  be  indifferent;  but  the  sincerest  charity  compels  us 
to  wish,  that  mankind  may  be  led  to  think  less  unworthily 
of  what,  we  are  satisfied,  is  the  Truth.  But  this  also, 
we  are  instructed,  will,  sooner  or  later,  be  the  case. 
For  though  it  is  agreeable  to  divine  prediction,  that,  at 
the  time  of  the  Second  Coming,  "  they  should  make  war 
with  the  Lamb," — should  oppose  the  belief  of  the  Divin- 
ity of  the  Lord's  Humanity  and  of  his  oneness  with  the 
Father,  with  the  other  truths  then  to  be  made  known; 
yet  the  same  prediction  assures  us,  that  "the  Lamb 
shall  overcome  them," — shall  convince  them,  from  the 
Word,  of  their  mistake:  "  for  he  is  Lord  of  lords,  and 
King  of  kings."*  Happy,  assuredly,  are  they,  who 
yield  to  his  dominion!  Thus  happy  are  they,  by  what- 
ever denomination  they  wish  to  be  called,  Vv'ho  practi- 
cally admit  the  two  first  essentials  of  the  New  Church, 
prefigured,  as  we  believe,  by  the  New  Jerusalem;  which 
are, — The  acknowledgment  of  the  Lord  in  understand- 
ing and  in  heart;  and,  A  life  according  to  his  command- 
ments. 

*  Rev.  xvii.  14. 


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